Australia's online shopping demand increases! Postal Service invests another $400 million to upgrade logistics network

Due to factors such as the epidemic, the demand for online shopping in Australia continues to increase, resulting in an increasing use of logistics in Australia.

Recently, Australia Post expects to continue investing A$400 million in new logistics facilities, fleets and technologies by mid-2022 to further upgrade and consolidate its logistics network.

It is understood that the funds will be mainly invested in five new distribution centers, including four new distribution centers near major e-commerce centers in New South Wales and Victoria. There is also one located on the west coast of Australia, where it is expected to invest $42 million to meet the growing demand for parcel services in the region.

Next year, Australia Post will invest an additional A$20 million to upgrade its logistics system to optimize services such as parcel scanning and tracking systems. In addition, Australia Post also expects to allocate A$31 million for a new electric transport fleet to support new sustainable development concepts and last-mile delivery services.

Australia Post Group CEO and Managing Director Paul Graham said we continue to invest in optimising our parcel processing centres to keep pace with the boom in online shopping during the pandemic.

To ease logistics pressure during year-end promotions such as Christmas, Australia Post has opened its first dedicated parcel facility in South Australia to improve its operations in the state, which can now handle 8,000 parcels per hour.

It is reported that South Australia   More than 344,000 South Australian households shopped online in September , with parcel volumes up 7 per cent that month compared to the same period last year. Australia Post South Australia head of delivery Rob Clothier said the new facility would help cope with the surge in online shopping caused by the pandemic.

Previously, Australia Post has invested approximately A$82 million to build a new large distribution center in Perth to meet the growing demand for e-commerce.

Australia Post's 2021 Inside Online Shopping report shows that more than 9 million Australians shopped online in the past year, an increase of nearly 32% year-on-year.

Under the influence of the epidemic blockade, most Australian consumers have changed their consumption habits, and more and more people choose to shop online. Especially the young group, with their understanding of technology and the Internet, 57% of Generation Z (18-24 years old) shop online; and the number of online shoppers of the baby boomer generation (over 60 years old) has also increased by 69% compared with before the epidemic.

According to Disfold data, Australian consumers' favorite e-commerce platform is eBay, with Amazon and Australian supermarket Woolworths ranking second and third.

On e-commerce platforms, buyers have the highest sales in categories such as fashion, furniture, and electrical appliances. According to the survey, in addition to browsing products on their mobile phones, Australians are also influenced by TV programs. When "Lego Masters" was broadcast, an average of three sets of Lego were sold on eBay every minute. Therefore, when sellers select products and promote them, they can also refer to the popular trends of TV programs at the time.

Overall, Australia's online market is growing rapidly, with online sales exceeding approximately A$34.1 billion in 2020, and is expected to grow to A$38.3 billion by 2021, at a growth rate of 13.6%. During the pandemic alone, online shopping in Australia increased by 32%. Australia Post delivers more than 10 million parcels nationwide each week. There are now more than 5.7 million Australian households who shop online regularly, and experts believe that the country's e-commerce market will continue to grow at an average rate of 9-10% per year over the next decade .

Australia

logistics