The falling Australian dollar is leading Australian shoppers to look local when it comes to online shopping, according to new Galaxy research commissioned by Appliances Online.With the dollar hitting a four-year low, the research notes most shoppers are keeping “a keen eye” on its movements, with only 17 per cent saying they don’t pay attention to it.
Whereas last year 17 per cent of respondents said they only buy from Australian online retailers, that figure has grown to 22 per cent in 2014.
Meanwhile, the research found 84 per cent of Australians are confident shopping online.
Gen Y recorded 91 per cent confidence in shopping online, with baby boomers growing in confidence at 77 per cent, up 2 per cent on 2013.
Of those not confident in shopping online, 66 per cent don’t like making credit card transactions, up from 60 per cent in 2013, 60 per cent don’t feel safe handing out personal details online, and 26 per cent simply don’t trust the internet.
Women in particular have reservations when it comes to credit card transactions, with 72 per cent citing this as a reason for feeling nervous when shopping online, compared to 58 per cent of men.
Nearly one in 10 Australians have been the victim of some kind of fraud or security issue when shopping online, with fraudulent websites the main problem (9 per cent), followed by the theft of credit card or banking details (8 per cent).
Gen X were the victims of cyber-crime twice as much as Gen Y, at 12 per cent compared to 6 per cent.
“Australians are looking for value, and they won’t put up with poor service or bad security,” commented Appliances Online COO Peter Harris.
“The falling dollar is a big opportunity for local retailers as more people will be looking to find better prices and bargains closer to home. But it’s critical that Australian online stores offer the same world-class security and data privacy guarantees of their global counterparts.”
