Australia's real economy is in recession, and Amazon and eBay are the biggest winners!

Recently, according to a joint survey by consulting firm Accenture and credit bureau illion, Australia's real economy has suffered a major blow in the past year due to epidemic blockade restrictions.

The Greater Sydney area was only locked down for a few days in June, but retail sales data for that month showed a negative growth trend of -1.8%. The Queen Victoria Building, which was once bustling in the center of Sydney, has become deserted due to the epidemic.

It is understood that during the lockdown, major Australian department stores such as David Jones, Kmart, BigW and Myer were hit hard. Consumers were unable to go out to shop, which resulted in almost zero sales and far below-average purchasing power, making it difficult to maintain market share.

For example, Australia's oldest department store, David Jones, saw its spending in 2021 fall 68% from normal levels, compared with a 21% drop in 2020. The magnitude of the decline is worrying.

In 2020, BigW and Kmart's spending increased due to factors such as the easing of the epidemic and government subsidies. However, this year, due to the mutation of the virus strain and the intensification of the epidemic, the companies' spending has declined, down 39% and 47% respectively.

On the contrary, the digital economy is booming in Australia. Business on e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and eBay has surged. At the same time, the sales of these two platforms in the two major cities of Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, far exceed those of other e-commerce platforms, making them the well-deserved "big winners".

According to statistics, consumers in Sydney and Melbourne spent 122% more on Amazon than normal, while eBay soared 310%, far higher than during the epidemic last year.

Because Australians love parties and have many family members, these factors lead to their "generous spending". Therefore, Australian consumers generally order 2-3 pieces at a time, and sales have doubled.

In terms of product selection, according to statistics from Amazon Australia during the consumer promotion period, the sales of computers and accessories, household products, and electronic products increased the most.

Australian consumers' online shopping needs also vary according to the season. For example, in January, the back-to-school season, the purchasing power of consumer electronics, school supplies and clothing is relatively strong; Easter in March is the autumn in Australia, and clothing and household products are more popular with consumers; at the end of the year, affected by Black Friday and Christmas, the discounts are relatively large, and consumer electronics and furniture products often attract the attention and purchase of consumers.

In general, Australia is the world's 12th largest economy, with a per capita GDP of $52,000. Although the Australian economy shrank by 1.1% in 2020, it was still the best performing among developed countries. In 2021, Australia's Internet penetration rate reached 85%, which greatly helped the development of online shopping, with 81% of consumers saying they would choose to shop online. It is expected that the advantages of Amazon and eBay will continue to be maintained.

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