Just a few weeks out from Christmas, e-commerce retailers are witnessing signals of renewed consumer confidence as international sales drive spending growth, according to the latest Digital Economy Index by Australian-founded global financial platform, Airwallex.
The Digital Economy Index captures deposit and payment volumes to indicate consumer confidence for different types of digital businesses in Australia. This analysis takes into account a combined sample of 3,785 Airwallex customers.
With Q1 online sales down 36.7% year-over-year (YoY), Q3 data revealed a significant turnaround, with online spending up 16.4% YoY.
Australian e-commerce businesses are experiencing 80.1% growth in international sales, highlighting a considerable shift toward overseas markets amid a challenging economic climate.
Airwallex head of enterprise for Australia and New Zealand, Huw Griffiths sees this as a strategic pivot by Australian businesses.
“More Australian businesses are using this as an opportunity to drive and accelerate growth by enabling their products and services through cross-border channels. Going global has never been easier for ambitious Australian businesses – no matter how new or small,” he said.
Western Australia businesses lead the nation with a triple-digit YoY increase in online spending of 272.5%, followed by Victorian (20.9%) and New South Wales (12.1%) businesses.
Queensland businesses experienced a decline in online spending in Q3 compared to the same period last year, down 35.4% YoY.
Griffiths urges businesses to optimise their online presence and cross-border capabilities as holiday season momentum builds. “Australia’s e-commerce landscape is poised to thrive in Q4, so now is the time for businesses to leverage strong digital strategies to capture increased consumer demand, both domestically and internationally.”