Why you need to set up your online store

COVID-19 has well and truly defined and transformed the year 2020.

Gatherings have dwindled from hundreds of people to single digits and restrictions remain volatile.

Australians have had to adapt quickly to social distancing rules and limit their time spent out and about in the community.

With these adaptations, we’re seeing consumers changing the way they spend their money to better accommodate more time spent at home.

As a result, merchants have had to adapt to this change and offer new and increasingly supported ways of shopping.

How are Australians shopping now?

Australians were forced to adapt and did so very quickly.

So quickly, panic buying began to set in.

Many pharmacies and grocery stores couldn’t keep up with the demand for toilet paper and hand sanitiser.

After panic buying caused concern for close contact in physical stores, a surge of online shopping began to develop.

Since March, Australian eCommerce growth skyrocketed up to over 73% since March 2019 (Aus Post, 2020).

And as conditions in Victoria continue to worsen, eCommerce is gaining momentum and reaching its highest peaks recorded this year.

The three top eCommerce growth categories were:

Home and garden – up 82% since 2019
Food and liquor – up 76% since 2019
Health and beauty – up 71% since 2019

Surprisingly, the biggest shifts in purchases month on month were health and beauty, arts and crafts and books.

Seemingly, consumers are still making more online purchases than ever before and are purchasing things that help preoccupy them whilst they stay home.

There was also an evident shift from overseas orders to local orders.

57% of consumers said their reasons for opting for local stores over international stores was to support local Australian businesses and the economy.

So, with Australian consumers actively searching to support local Australian businesses and when they find them, they are purchasing more from them, should be a motivating enough factor for businesses to set up their online store.

Businesses need to respond to consumer demand

Physical businesses without an online store are likely missing out on a significant chunk of exposure and sales opportunity.

And it’s not just a temporary opportunity, with pockets of community transmission still occurring throughout Australia, storefront businesses could be required to close up at any time to stop the spread.

With an online store, businesses will have a safety net.

They will have the ability to continue making sales, no matter whether community transmission takes off in their local area.

In addition to responding to short term demand, there are also a number of benefits of setting up an eCommerce store in the long term including:

Diversifies your business and business offering
Online shopping appeals to an ever-growing number of Australian shoppers
Provides consumers with the added convenience to shop wherever and whenever
Gives businesses the opportunity to expand their business scope without incurring the heavy costs of expansion associated with physical storefronts

If you want to continue competing with your competitors and be supported by your fellow Aussies, you’re going to want to listen to consumer demand and respond to it promptly.

Set up your online store with LatPay

LatPay is a one-stop-shop payment gateway for online stores.

With LatPay you can enjoy:

Merchant services and facilities
Real-time payments
Direct debit facilities
Recurring payments
Alternative payments
Fraud management
Hosted payment pages
Shopping carts
Mobile payment solutions
Payment links

If you’re ready to take a step in the right direction and set up an online store for your business, follow our helpful guide to setting up your eCommerce business and start reaping the rewards of a secure payment gateway with LatPay.

Alternatively, reach out to our friendly staff, and we’ll get you on your way to achieving greater sales with an online store.