Office Products News

Amazon crunches online rivals in Australia

 Australia’s largest online marketplace now has annual sales approaching $5 billion.
 
Since its Australian launch in 2017, Amazon has taken 11 per cent of online non-food retail sales and 42 per cent of sales on online marketplaces.
 
Domestic marketplaces are struggling to match Amazon’s range, which has risen to 200 million stock-keeping units, its fulfilment capabilities, with one-day delivery recently expanded to another five cities (Brisbane, Geelong, Gosford, Newcastle and Wollongong) and services, including Prime free delivery, video, music and books, according to a report in the Australian Financial Review
 
The total value of merchandise sold through Amazon.com.au  is estimated to have reached $4.9 billion last year. Investment group Jarden expects gross transaction revenue (GTV) to reach $5.9 billion this year and $6.7 billion by 2025, while a new distribution centre under construction in Melbourne will take GTV capacity to more than $10 billion.
 
“To put those figures into perspective, Australia’s largest retailer, Woolworths, booked $6.6 billion in online sales last year, while Wesfarmers’ Bunnings, Kmart, Target, Officeworks and Catch divisions clocked up online revenues of $3.1 billion,” the AFR said.
 
So far, eBay, Australia’s first online marketplace, has been the worst affected by Amazon’s rise, with its share of marketplace spending dropping to 34 per cent last year, down from 66 per cent in 2020, according to Jarden.
 
Kogan’s marketplace share has slipped to seven per cent, compared with 11 per cent in 2021, and eight per cent in 2020. Catch’s share has fallen back to six per cent, the same as in 2020, after reaching nine per cent in 2021.
Date Published: 
20 February 2024