A RECORD 9.3 million Australian households have participated in online shopping sprees over the last financial year - up 12 per cent from 9.1m the previous financial year - largely due to extended lockdowns during the pandemic, according to Australia Post.

Hamilton Business Regional Association (HRBA) public officer, Matt Nettleton, said that the association supported its members and non-members in developing online sales and marketing acumen, but also encouraged people to get back into stores and shop locally.

“As an association, we greatly support people shopping locally, however, we also support our members, and people that are not members, in moving to an online platform,” he said.

“We have held joint workshops with Southern Grampians Shire Council that we have promoted through HRBA for businesses that are looking to get training and skills in online sales and marketing.

“More people are shopping online, and that is the reality of where consumers are going, but obviously there are still great opportunities and benefits to shopping locally.”

Extended lockdowns, closed retail stores, and supply chain issues have all contributed to pushing consumers to shop on the internet.

However, the growing trend, especially among Millennials (25-39 years olds) and Generation Z (10-24 years olds) to shift from over-the-counter purchases to shopping online, has the potential to hurt retail outlets’ profits if they do not remain competitive and conform with the reality of changing consumer habits.

More than a billion parcels have been delivered via Australia Post’s online parcel management platform since its launch in 2016, and Australia Post head of E-commerce analytics, Rose Yip, said the growth in online shopping had accelerated beyond expectations throughout the pandemic.

“We’ve seen more than 900 million parcels delivered in the last three years alone, which says so much about how quickly E-commerce has grown in a short amount of time,” she said.

“It’s now the norm for so many Australians, with more than five million households regularly shopping online every month, which is why we’ve not only increased our network capacity, but we’re investing in more new facilities, technology, and our fleet, to set up a strong and sustainable network for the future.”

Hamilton Post Office manager, Annette Edwards, said there had been a big change over the past two years in parcel traffic and mailing items purchased online.

“We’d certainly never seen these sorts of parcel volumes before the pandemic,” she said.

“People have definitely taken up online shopping in a big way, especially when they couldn’t get to the shops during those tough times last year.

“It’s meant a lot to us that we’ve been able to help the Hamilton community to stay in touch and get the things they needed throughout the pandemic.”

The six months from July to December 2021 were especially epic, with an estimated 5.6 million households turning to E-commerce and purchasing something online.

Australia Post Corporate Affairs recorded that the most popular online purchases were pet products (up 38 per cent YOY), tools and garden items (29 per cent), and products from major and discount stores (32 per cent), while baby products and athleisure items also grew.

Lyal Eales Stores Hamilton store manager, Michael Doherty, said that consumers’ shift to online shopping through their stores made up a substantial portion of their enterprise.

“We can have it delivered directly to a person’s house,” he said.

“Either by one of our delivery drivers or by Australia Post.

“With eight stores now across western Victoria, having recently set up a store in St Arnaud, if we don’t have something in stock in Hamilton, we can ring one of the other seven stores and have an item shipped out,” he said.

The Southern Grampians Shire Council and HRBA are combining to host a free Local Business Breakfast workshop to provide insights into the benefits of using high-speed broadband via nbn on Thursday, July 21, 2022, from 7.30 am at The Speckled Frog (106 Gray Street, Hamilton).