Comprehensive Report on Consumer Online Shopping Behavior in Australia

This report provides a comprehensive overview of online shopping behavior in the Australian retail industry. It identifies various issues affecting consumer behavior, including cultural influences, age demographics, lack of trust, and online fraud. The report also explores solutions such as product diversification, psychographic campaigns, and technological advancements to combat fraud. It highlights supporting examples from the Australian clothing and retail industries, emphasizing the importance of building consumer trust and the need for local retailers to expand their online presence. The conclusion emphasizes the significance of addressing these issues to succeed in the growing online market. The report suggests that the Australian retail market needs to focus on providing tested solutions to secure a place in the booming online market.

Running head: ONLINE SHOPPING BEHAVIOR
Online Shopping Behavior
Name of the Student-
Name of the University-
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Discussion........................................................................................................................................2
Issues............................................................................................................................................2
Solutions......................................................................................................................................4
Supporting Examples...................................................................................................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................5
References........................................................................................................................................6

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Introduction
Aiming to generate a comprehensive view about the various issues that are related to the
online shopping behavior of consumers in the Australian Retail Industry, this report will
endeavor to provide an insight of the various forces at work. The report will try to argue for the
fact that there are innumerable issues that need to be addressed to enhance the online shopping
behavior of consumers. The report will also focus on the cultural influences that shapes the
online shopping behaviors of consumers in Australia. This report will also endeavor to market
oriented solutions to the issues that shall be identified. The following paragraphs will try to
justify the proposed solutions in relation to the industry practices and standard.
Discussion
Issues
Studies have projected that certain factors affect and channelize the online shopping
behavior of consumers. Various factors shape the participation of consumers in online shopping.
Studies depict that extensive research has not been conducted on the online shopping behavior of
consumers (Cummins et al. 2014). However, gauging the online behavior of consumers is
important to understand the areas that need improvement.
Various cultural factors also shape the online shopping behavior of the consumers.
Cultural factors such as religious preferences and inclinations can shape consumer behavior.
Studies have found that religious influences shape the preference for certain products (Mathras et
al. 2016). Statistics unearth the fact online shopping behavior in Australia is mostly confined to
the young and middle-aged generations (Martin, Mortimer and Andrews 2015). The authors even
mention that the female population is seen to use the platforms to online shopping more than the

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males in the Australian Retail Market. The wide difference in the age group of consumers who
participate in online shopping and others can generate various problems for the Australian Retail
Market. The restriction of online shopping to people belonging to a particular age can adversely
affect the revenue generated by the various organizations selling online products. It is also seen
that in contrast to other places, the places that shelter the youth are prone to online shopping
(Auspost.com.au 2019).
Another issue that is identified is the lack of trust and belief in the online products
(Dawes and Nenycz-Thiel 2014). This shapes the online shopping behavior of customers in the
Australian Retail Market. In addition to this, the cases of online fraud had repelled customers
from online purchase (Button et al. 2014). While the sale of mobile phones has increases, the
online sale of laptops has reduced largely. This depicts the changes in the online shopping
behavior of the consumers in Australia. Cultural influences strongly influence the decision of
clients to purchase certain online products (Goodrich and De Moij 2014). The authors mention
that collective cultural influences such as placing the trust on online sites can also shape the
online shopping behavior in Australians.
Studies have also revealed the fact that the Australian Retail Market and online shopping
behavior is getting affected and modified due to the non-availability of big local retailers (Sohaib
and Kang 2014). The non-availability of big local enterprises selling online products, the
consumers in Australia are compelled to choose overseas online brands. A rapid continuation of
these processes will lead to the greater shift of consumers from the current local brands. This can
further affect the future of local retailers who plan to sell their products using the online
platforms.

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Solutions
The issue of difference in the age of the population who participate and refrain from
online shopping can be bridged and solutions can be provided to eradicate these differences.
Chiefly, the Australian Retail Market should focus on extensive market research about the needs
and the prevalent temperament of the aged. The retailers must engage in extensive advertisement
for the inclusion of these diverse products for the Aged. Product diversification can assist in
attracting customers of varied age and gender. The issue can be resolved when the online
retailers can expand the consumer base by diversifying the products. To resolve the issue of
gender gap in online purchase, retailers need to invest in psychographic campaigns.
To resolve the issue of lack of trust and online shopping fraud, the solution that is
proposed is that the online retailers must invest in the use of technology and ideas to prevent the
hackers from feigning the identity of the organizations concerned. This can also reduce the cases
of mistrust amongst the consumers.
To resolve the issue of lesser number of local online retailers and the preference of
employees for overseas brands, the local Australian retailers need to expand their business
enterprises and marketing strategies to reach to the consumers who prefer online shopping.
Supporting Examples
It is seen that the Australian clothing industry has incorporated product diversity to
enhance the consumer base and the range of the products. In Australia, designers distribute their
products to the local retailers. Studies reveal that many manufacturers in Australia have
introduced product diversity to compete with the market to bridge the gap between the
consumers bases (Soosay et al. 2016).

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In Australia, consumers prefer to purchase products based on the reviews generated by
others (Malbon 2013). Therefore, to build confidence and trust amongst the customers, the
Grocery and Supermarket Retail Industry in Australia had incorporated marketing strategies to
generate confidence amongst the consumers.
It is seen that in Australia, the L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival, the local retailers
present their culture and tradition through the festivals (Weller 2013). In addition to this, the
need for expansion of businesses of local retailers can be traced in the case of the local food
retailer market (Bianchi and Mortimer 2015). To expand the business and generate awareness
about the products the retailers had to engage in proper activities to generate awareness.
Conclusion
After analyzing the above-discussed ideas, it can be concluded that the online shopping
behavior of customers in Australia is dependent on factors such as age, building of trust and
availability of local retailers. It can also be concluded that there are relevant solutions applicable
to resolve the issues that are identified. In addition to this, it can also be concluded that the retail
industry and market in Australia needs to focus on these solutions to propound tested solutions to
secure a place in the booming online market.

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References
Auspost.com.au (2019). [online] Auspost.com.au. Available at:
https://auspost.com.au/content/dam/auspost_corp/media/documents/2018-ecommerce-industry-
paper-inside-australian-online-shopping.pdf [Accessed 22 Jan. 2019].
Bianchi, C. and Mortimer, G., 2015. Drivers of local food consumption: a comparative
study. British Food Journal, 117(9), pp.2282-2299.
Button, M., Nicholls, C.M., Kerr, J. and Owen, R., 2014. Online frauds: Learning from victims
why they fall for these scams. Australian & New Zealand journal of criminology, 47(3), pp.391-
408.
Cummins, S., W. Peltier, J., A. Schibrowsky, J. and Nill, A., 2014. Consumer behavior in the
online context. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, 8(3), pp.169-202.
Dawes, J. and Nenycz-Thiel, M., 2014. Comparing retailer purchase patterns and brand metrics
for in-store and online grocery purchasing. Journal of Marketing Management, 30(3-4), pp.364-
382.
Goodrich, K. and De Mooij, M., 2014. How ‘social’are social media? A cross-cultural
comparison of online and offline purchase decision influences. Journal of Marketing
Communications, 20(1-2), pp.103-116.
Malbon, J., 2013. Taking fake online consumer reviews seriously. Journal of Consumer
Policy, 36(2), pp.139-157.

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Martin, J., Mortimer, G. and Andrews, L., 2015. Re-examining online customer experience to
include purchase frequency and perceived risk. Journal of retailing and consumer services, 25,
pp.81-95.
Mathras, D., Cohen, A.B., Mandel, N. and Mick, D.G., 2016. The effects of religion on
consumer behavior: A conceptual framework and research agenda. Journal of Consumer
Psychology, 26(2), pp.298-311.
Sohaib, O. and Kang, K., 2014. Cultural Aspects of Business‐to‐Consumer (B2C) E‐commerce:
Acomparative Analysis of Pakistan and Australia. The Electronic Journal of Information
Systems in Developing Countries, 61(1), pp.1-18.
Soosay, C., Nunes, B., Bennett, D.J., Sohal, A., Jabar, J. and Winroth, M., 2016. Strategies for
sustaining manufacturing competitiveness: Comparative case studies in Australia and
Sweden. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 27(1), pp.6-37.
Weller, S., 2013. Consuming the city: Public fashion festivals and the participatory economies of
urban spaces in Melbourne, Australia. Urban Studies, 50(14), pp.2853-2868.