Online groceries in Australia set to grow, IBISWorld
Online groceries sales in Australia are predicted to grow, reaching $2,194 million in 2015, up 14.6 per cent from $1,914.2 million in 2014, according to market research organisation IBISWorld.
Online groceries are one of five industries that IBISWorld is predicting will soar in 2015. The other industries expected to grow include hydroponic crop farming, coal seam gas extraction, private equity, and fast fashion. By contrast, IBISWorld said it expected mining and construction machinery manufacturing, cigarette manufacturing, motion picture and video distribution, and electricity distribution to endure a difficult year in 2015.
Online grocery sales in Australia
Online grocery shopping has been slow to catch on within the Australian market, even as local online shopping as a whole has exploded in popularity over the past five years.
IBISWorld said the uptake of online shopping is typically driven by the improved ease of use of online stores and fast, affordable delivery options. As consumers become more adept at using online stores and gain more experience buying items online, online shopping expands.
Such a phenomenon is anticipated to occur for online grocery stores in 2015, leading to revenue growth of 14.6 per cent for the year.
“While grocery shopping is not a difficult undertaking as there are supermarkets scattered across all pockets of the country, time-conscious consumers are increasingly realising the benefits of online grocery shopping,” said David Whytcross, IBISWorld senior industry analyst.
“The increased prevalence of click-and-collect options and greater comfort with purchasing perishable items like fresh fruit online are expected to boost industry revenue over the coming year,” Mr Whytcross said.
Australian online grocery retailing ‘evolving rapidly’
Although the uptake of online grocery retailing has been slow, recent discussion has suggested technological considerations such as the increased ownership of ‘connected devices’ would have a significant impact on what the online grocery segment in Australia would look like in the coming years.
Australian Food News reported in September 2014 that Shane Scacco, Head of Client Service, Retail Industry Group, at market research organisation Nielsen had said Australia’s grocery retail sector was “evolving rapidly”, influenced by major trends such as retail convergence, the influence of digital and social media, shifting consumer demographics and ethnicities and media fragmentation.
Food and beverages now in the top 5 online purchase categories in Australia
Findings from market research organisation Roy Morgan Research have also showed that Food and Beverages are among the top 5 categories by expenditure in online shopping in Australia.
The findings showed a clear trend towards internet shopping, with Australians who do not buy something online in an average three month period becoming a minority for the first time in 2013.
Australians aged 14 and over spent $24.3 billion online in the 12 months to March 2013, an increase of 11.9 per cent on the previous year, according to the latest consumer data from Roy Morgan Research. Total retail sales, however, rose only 3.4 per cent in the same period.
Online grocery set for shake up with international player joining?
Australian Food News also reported in September 2014 that Global retail giant Amazon could be preparing to enter the Australian grocery market, with Amazon advertising for a software development engineer in Brisbane for its AmazonFresh grocery delivery business.
