Rakuten: Only 36% of Australians use mobile transactions, APAC figures

Rakuten Marketing launched the second edition of their ‘APAC State of e-Commerce’ report, revealing some surprising insights into Australia’s online purchasing habits, and comparisons to our Asia-Pacific neighbours.

The report delves into the online shopping behaviours and preferences of 500 consumers in each of the nine key markets within APAC – Australia, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia and New Zealand.

This is the second year the report has been conducted with results from Japan and Indian markets added in 2019.

Findings reveal Australia lags behind in the global e-Commerce space. Only 36% of total shopping is transacted online in Australia, considerably lower compared to the average 47% seen throughout the rest of APAC.

Of the Australians making online purchases, transactions are primarily taking place on desktop (50%), followed by mobile (36%) and tablet (14%).

The research proves Australia as an outlier to the rest of APAC, with mobile purchases accounting for the largest portion of total online sales, averaging 45% across the rest of the region.

High shipping costs were revealed to be the number one contributor holding Australians back from online shopping. Up 14% from last year, 52% claim this is a major deterrent alongside concerns over returning items (27%), lack of payment security (22%) and website legitimacy (22%).

When deciding where to shop, both Australian and APAC consumers as a whole are mainly driven by price-point (81.3% and 80.9% respectively). Other key factors encouraging Australian consumers to purchase online include variety of products on offer (63%), delivery times (55%), and website usability (50%).

Twenty percent of consumers are influenced by the availability of vouchers & promotions, and 16% by the availability of cashback and rewards.

Additionally, the majority of online purchases are being spent on travel (14%), groceries and household goods (12%) and female fashion (10%).

Of particular interest to marketers, online search proved to be the most popular method of brand discovery with 77% of respondents stating as preference, followed by family and friends (35%) and social media (27%).

Surprisingly, Australian consumers also revealed they discover new brands via deal and coupon sites (15%) and cashback and reward sites (9%).

Cont./over Once connected with a brand, Australians choose to engage primarily via Facebook (29%), followed by email (28%) and Instagram (20%). Interestingly, a mere 3% of Aussies engage with brands via Snapchat.

Commenting on the research findings, Managing Director of International at Rakuten Marketing, Anthony Capano said: “eMarketer is forecasting global e-commerce to exceed USD$3.5 trillion by the end of the year, and of this, the Asia-Pacific region will drive 64% of all retail sales.

The APAC market, including Australia, presents a wealth of opportunities for brands and retailers looking to enter the region. “The findings of this report will assist brands and marketers in developing a deeper understanding of the nuanced behaviours of consumers within APAC and help identify new opportunities.

“We hope this report helps businesses make more informed decisions on how to best grow and operate within the region.”