Australia Post eCommerce Report 2025

Aussie wallets have tightened

Households are being cautious with how they spend their money, using online shopping to manage costs and shop strategically for affordable items. In fact, despite the record spending, pressure on household budgets saw the average basket size drop to $95, down 2.1% from last year, and the lowest in a decade, the report reveals.

The average basket size for each generation peaked during the pandemic. Gen Zs, Millennials and Gen Xs had lower average basket sizes in 2024 than in 2019, while those of Baby Boomers and Builders increased.

“Through the course of 2024, consumers were seeking the cheapest price, so they were shopping around a lot more than they were a few years ago,” says Belinda Allen, Senior Economist, CommBank.

“Younger age groups adopted more savvy spending: they looked at online marketplaces and discount department stores and shopped around for discounts. But people over 60 weren’t as exposed to the cost-of-living pressures, so they were generally raising spending across the board.”

Online spending by Baby Boomers and the Builders generation – born between 1925 and 1945 – each rose by around 20%, to $10.1 billion and $2.7 billion respectively, the Australia Post report reveals. Despite the rises, Millennials and Gen X remained the biggest-spending generations, spending $24.9 billion and $19.2 billion respectively.

And spending also diverged by region. Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and regional areas around the country raised spending. Meanwhile, in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, higher household debt, higher home prices and a greater sensitivity around higher interest rates really reined in spending.

“Through the course of 2024, consumers were seeking the cheapest price, so they were shopping around a lot more than they were a few years ago.” 
– Belinda Allen, Senior Economist, CommBank

Hunting for value online

In 2024, some 9.8 million households shopped online – a new record – as cost-of-living pressures also sent more shoppers online in a quest to find value. 

Millennials were the most frequent online shoppers in 2024, with 44% buying weekly. Gen Zs shopped multiple times a month, while Gen Xs, Baby Boomers and Builders shopped monthly.

The quality of delivery is a key factor for all generations of shoppers, with 85% saying a reliable delivery experience will be the most important factor in trusting online retailers in the next five years.

In fact, more than half of shoppers rate free delivery as their top delivery preference. The ecommerce report says retailers can make use of the trend – increasing their customer base by providing free shipping to first-time customers and growing their email list by providing free shipping to subscribers. Free shipping can also increase basket size by creating a free shipping threshold.

Additionally, 65% of shoppers say friction-free returns contribute to a great online shopping experience, while around half of Gen Zs and Millennials say they would switch retailers to access out-of-home collection points.

The appeal of a deal

Gary Starr, Executive General Manager Parcel, Post and eCommerce Services, Australia Post, notes that online shoppers are turning to key sales events such as Black Friday/Cyber Monday to stretch their dollar further in the face of inflation and household budgets under pressure.

With a record $2.2 billion spent last year, Starr says the jump is a double-edged sword for Australian retailers.

“We know that three-quarters of businesses are concerned that frequent sales events are training shoppers to only buy goods that are on sale. But we have to embrace the fact that Aussies love a sale and strategic shopping has now become the norm,” he says.

“Retailers who don’t participate in as many sales events throughout the year should consider developing an enticing loyalty strategy. That could be via a subscription or other forms of rewards to create loyalty, consistency and, in return, repeat purchases.”

In fact, 61% of Gen Zs, 62% of Millennials and 56% of Gen Xs want online retailers to provide more personalised sale offers in the future – and retailers will turn to artificial intelligence to help them achieve this.

Generation Alpha – an emerging retail cohort born from 2010 to 2024 who have grown up with smart devices and food-delivery apps – will have particularly high expectations for personalisation. Retailers meeting these expectations will drive stronger engagement and lasting loyalty.

“Retailers who don’t participate in as many sales events throughout the year should consider developing an enticing loyalty strategy. That could be via a subscription or other forms of rewards to create loyalty, consistency and, in return, repeat purchases.” 
– Gary Starr, Executive General Manager Parcel, Post and ecommerce Services, Australia Post

Leaning on tech 

AI can boost productivity for tasks behind the scenes, such as content generation and campaign ideation. From there, retailers can start to use it for their customer interactions.

“Start testing the AI in places where you have greater control, like customer service and personalised promotions, before deploying more advanced capabilities like an AI shopping assistant,” says Irving Lee, Asia Retail Industry Lead, Microsoft.

Ultimately, AI can help retailers reimagine the next generation of the ecommerce experience.

“In the US, EMEA and Asia, AI tools are enabling conversational commerce as shoppers adapt from keyword searches to personalised questions. In China, chat interactions during social commerce are now curated by an AI agent, sometimes using AI avatars as social commerce sellers,” Lee says.

Looking ahead

The outlook for ecommerce in Australia for 2025 is generally upbeat but the calendar year has started a little softer than expected, Allen notes.

“The RBA has started cutting interest rates and more are expected. We expect this, over time, will help boost consumer spending,” she says.

“But because households drew into their savings during cost-of-living pressures, households might be a little cautious about lifting spending until they rebuild their saving buffers. It might be later in 2025 before spending looks more normal.”