Men Spend More Online Than Women
Australian men spend an average $15 a week more buying products and services online, according to a six-year study by the World Internet Project.
It found that Aussie men spend an average of $229 a week compared with $204 by women, with the average consumer spending $2,616 annually online.
Three in 10 Australian online shoppers buy every week, compared with two in 10 for New Zealanders and one in 10 for the Swiss.
Researchers also found that almost 50% of Australians shopped almost exclusively with Australian suppliers, but that trend was changing as awareness and trust in selected overseas sites became more more common.
According to the NAB Online Retail Sales Index, Australians spent a total of $15.3 billion online in the 12 months to June 2014. Around 45% of that expenditure was on leisure and travel, and almost 25% was on fashion – clothes, shoes, jewellery and other accessories.
It is perhaps not surprising that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) received 92,000 complaints in 2013, involving losses of $89 million.
While the most expensive scams have been around online dating and romance sites, which stole over $25 million, the ACCC reports that this represented only 3% of the complaints received.
Many of the complaints were about up-front payment schemes, where consumers were asked to make a payment with their credit card to receive a bogus prize, reward or refund.
Identity theft and phishing also accounted for more than 15,000 complaints, a 73% increase on 2012.
More than 40% of scams were online and 52% through mobile phones. Identity theft was often accomplished with something as simple as asking consumers to fill in a free survey and win a $50 gift voucher!
The result was bank accounts were pilfered and in some instances tens of thousands of dollars of debts were accumulated.
Scams mainly targeted people in the 45-54 age groups, with the number of people over 65 years being scammed more than doubling in the past year.
If you have any concerns about an online operation, contact the ACCC at http://www.accc.gov.au
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It found that Aussie men spend an average of $229 a week compared with $204 by women, with the average consumer spending $2,616 annually online.
Three in 10 Australian online shoppers buy every week, compared with two in 10 for New Zealanders and one in 10 for the Swiss.
Researchers also found that almost 50% of Australians shopped almost exclusively with Australian suppliers, but that trend was changing as awareness and trust in selected overseas sites became more more common.
According to the NAB Online Retail Sales Index, Australians spent a total of $15.3 billion online in the 12 months to June 2014. Around 45% of that expenditure was on leisure and travel, and almost 25% was on fashion – clothes, shoes, jewellery and other accessories.
It is perhaps not surprising that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) received 92,000 complaints in 2013, involving losses of $89 million.
While the most expensive scams have been around online dating and romance sites, which stole over $25 million, the ACCC reports that this represented only 3% of the complaints received.
Many of the complaints were about up-front payment schemes, where consumers were asked to make a payment with their credit card to receive a bogus prize, reward or refund.
Identity theft and phishing also accounted for more than 15,000 complaints, a 73% increase on 2012.
More than 40% of scams were online and 52% through mobile phones. Identity theft was often accomplished with something as simple as asking consumers to fill in a free survey and win a $50 gift voucher!
The result was bank accounts were pilfered and in some instances tens of thousands of dollars of debts were accumulated.
Scams mainly targeted people in the 45-54 age groups, with the number of people over 65 years being scammed more than doubling in the past year.
If you have any concerns about an online operation, contact the ACCC at http://www.accc.gov.au
Back to Home page
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