Nearly three quarters of households in 2007 have access to the internet. This is a big improvement over internet usage in Australia in 1998 – only one in eight households had internet access back then.

How we use the internet

We use the internet for education, entertainment, shopping and banking, among others. Google Australia is the most visited website in September 2009 and Harvey Norman is the 5th most visited website. Australian shoppers also spend much of their dollars at iTunes.

LCD notebooks and digital cameras are the most popular consumer products. Other popular items are multi-category computers and consumer electronics, special interest news, music, classified/auctions, videos/movies, shopping directories and guides, and online gaming.

Online shopping has also become more popular – it is convenient to do so because of the time the user saves, the user’s location is mostly irrelevant, and they have access to a bigger variety of products online. Other motivators include finding cheaper prices and also the ability to compare prices, finding specialty and hard to access products, a [perceived] level of control, and ease of comparing products and services. Shoppers are no longer as reluctant to shop online as they had been during the initial years. This could be due to heightened awareness of the safety of online shopping as well as the ubiquity of the activity.

Men Shop a Lot

Australian internet use follows the same pattern that we find in most other economies: those in higher income groups spend more time online compared to people in lower income groups. They’re also more likely to be young, urban, well-educated men in office jobs, although mothers do account for a growing number of online shoppers. Most users' motivation for shopping online is to impress people with their lifestyle; technology is important to most people of group and they are often the first people to have the latest gadget(s).

The Average Shopper Buys Once a Week

The CCi Digital Futures Report found that 57% of users have bought something online, while 10% of them are regular online shoppers who buy something at least once a week. And their research found that 82.9% do comparison research online before buying products, either online or offline.

The average internet user pays bills, makes travel bookings, and does banking online.

Some favourite websites are eBay Australia, eBay, Amazon.com, Trading Post Online, Shopping.com AU, GetPrice, Ticketek Australia, Rewards Central Australia, eBay Motors Australia, OO.com.au. eBay Australia received the bulk of the website traffic: 27.72% during the first week of September 2009.

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