Payment cards dominate e-commerce payments in Australia
Payment cards are the most are the preferred payment method for e-commerce purchases in Australia, collectively accounting for 50.6% share in 2023, reveals GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
GlobalData’s E-Commerce Analytics reveals that Australian e-commerce market is estimated to register 8.3% growth in 2024 to reach AUD77.2 billion ($51.3 billion), as consumers increasingly shift from offline to online purchases. The market is set to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.8% between 2024 and 2028 to reach AUD100.5 billion ($66.8 billion) in 2028.
Ravi Sharma, Lead Banking and Payments Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Australia’s e-commerce market has registered robust growth in the last five years. The rapid adoption of smartphones, growing internet penetration, the increasing number of online shoppers, and the availability of secure online payment systems have all supported this growth. Online shopping events such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday have helped boost e-commerce spending. The market’s growth has benefitted alternative payment solutions such as Google Pay, Apple Pay, and PayPal.”
To benefit from this trend, retailers are introducing unique online shopping concepts such as livestream shopping. In January 2023, IKEA launched a livestream shopping experience, with which users can buy products directly from its website while streaming home furnishing videos. Links for specific products are available in the livestream window, meaning consumers do not need to search for the products on the website—thus offering consumers a more convenient experience.
Payment cards accounted for a 50.6% share in e-commerce payment value in 2023. Of this credit and charge cards accounted for 29.2% share while debit cards accounted for 20.9%, according to the GlobalData’s 2023 Financial Services Consumer Survey*.
Cards usage is driven by benefits such as reward points, cashback, discounts at partner merchants, and the availability of installment payment facilities.
Alternative payment methods such as mobile and digital wallets are also widely used in the e-commerce space in Australia, accounting for 34.1% of the payments made on the online shopping platforms in 2023. Alternative payments are increasingly preferred by Australians with some of the popular brands being PayPal and Apple Pay.
Sharma concludes: “While payment cards continue to dominate, the growing popularity of alternative payment solutions, especially among younger generations, is expected to accelerate the shift away from cards to alternative payments.”
*GlobalData’s 2023 Financial Services Consumer Survey was carried out in Q2 2023. Approximately 50,000 respondents aged 18+ were surveyed across 40 countries.
