Pandemic Habits - Australians plan big time holiday shopping despite COVID-19

Chris Pash
By Chris Pash | 23 July 2020
 

This holiday season 73% of Australians will shop online regardless of a potential return to lockdown, according to research from Rakuten Advertising.

And 40% of Australian shoppers say they will maintain, and 28% will increase, spend on their holiday purchases in 2020.

The research, among 8,673 adults across the globe, found that despite 40% of global holiday shoppers citing a decrease in household income, 87% will still be shopping for holidays such as Christmas.

Rakuten says this lack of intent to curb spending during peak shopping periods is good news for brands and retailers, presenting an opportunity to drive revenue success in the second half of the year after a challenging start to 2020.

Overall, Australians acted conservatively when shopping during a period of uncertainty.

Since the coronavirus outbreak, 50% of Australian consumers have decreased monthly spending – a trend seen across the UK (49%) and New Zealand (47%) – and moved investment away from conventionally “fun” purchases to essentials.

Australian consumers cut spending on restaurant and delivery (53%), beauty and personal care (37%), and more luxurious items such as jewellery (58%) and apparel (52%), but increased spending on the likes of groceries (52%) and digital entertainment (37%).

“With consumers spending more time in front of small screens, brands have the opportunity to utilise mobile in-app tracking and further drive mobile sales this peak shopping seasons,” says Stuart McLennan, senior vice president, APAC at Rakuten Advertising.

“Additionally, brands can gain further insights into their consumers’ shopping behaviour as in-app tracking enables advertisers to accurately track conversions."

rakuten shopping

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