Chances are if you are a soloist who sells product you are using or have considered using the Internet to sell online. Whether you have your own website or sell through online auction sites such as eBay, the holiday season is likely to have brought the issue front of mind.
The largest percentage of online sales occurs from late October to late December each year. Trends suggest more and more people are shopping online to save time and avoid the rushed crowds at major shopping centres.
Setting up an e-commerce shopping cart site raises questions about security, the costs and whether you will be able to reach your target market and sell large volumes online.
Top 10 retail websites visited by Australians
8. www.petersofkensington.com.au
[Source: Hitwise Australia - 03/11/2007]
Online Shopping Demographic
Australian internet users have proven they are more than willing to shop online with a steady increase in online shopping over the past five years.
Some 87% of Australian internet users have made a purchase over the internet (ahead of the global average of 77%). As a result, the e-tailing industry has grown to a $14 billion industry this year.
What are people buying?
The largest proportion of online sales are in travel and accommodation with other popular items being books, music, clothes and computer software and hardware.
18 to 24 year olds are more likely to shop for entertainment such as music and computer games while 35 to 44 year olds are more budget conscious and visit price-comparison websites or sites such as oo.com.au, FlyBuys and Myshopping.com.au.
What sorts of products can be sold online?
Products suited to e-commerce include: software; printed or graphic material (e.g. classified ads, digital books); services not requiring human interaction (e.g. airline tickets); specialty niche goods (e.g. memorabilia); products for which the order processing costs are high (e.g. loan applications); and seasonal products (e.g. swimming pool shops).
Products not suited to e-commerce include: goods with a short shelf life (e.g. ice cream, bread or hamburgers); goods or services that require you to be at a particular location (e.g. petrol); and when transportation is difficult or costly (e.g. live animals, washing machines).
Recent Fast Mover
One of the top 4 fastest movers in online retail sites is www.crazysales.com.au which has had a big increase in Australian visits to the site over the 4 week period ending November 3, 2007. [Source: Hitwise]
An e-commerce website can reach potential customers outside your geographic area, make searching and cataloguing a large number of products easy and allow you to accept secure payments online.
Do you have an e-commerce website? Are you thinking of setting one up? Tell us your experiences via a comment.
“ The largest proportion of online sales are in travel and accommodation with other popular items being books, music, clothes and computer software and hardware. ”
Melissa Norfolk is an Internet expert who speaks to business, school and community groups about online marketing, email newsletters, effective use of the Internet, finding what you need online and Internet safety.
