1370.0 - Measures of Australia's Progress, 2010  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 15/09/2010   
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Communication

Shopping online(a)(b) - by age
Graph Image for Shopping online(a)(b) - by age

Footnote(s): (a) People who made purchases of goods or services for private purposes in the last 12 months as a proportion of all people who accessed the Internet. (b) Year ending 30 June.

Source(s): ABS Household Use of Information Technology, 2008-09 (cat. no. 8146.0)

SHOPPING ONLINE

Access to the Internet enables people to access or purchase information, goods and services regardless of location. However, concerns about security and privacy do exist.

In 2008-09, 64% of people aged 15 years and over who accessed the Internet used it to make online purchases, an increase from 2006-07 (61%). Younger adults aged 25-34 years were more likely to buy goods and services over the Internet than older people, with three-quarters (75%) doing so compared with less than half (45%) of people aged 65 years and over.

People on lower incomes were less likely to make online purchases. In 2008-09, only 54% of those with an income of less than $40,000 made online purchases, compared to 85% of those with an income of $120,000 or over.

People with higher educational qualifications were more likely to purchase goods and services online. In 2008-09 78% of people with a bachelor degree or above made online purchases, compared to 53% of people whose highest level of educational attainment was year 12.

In 2008-09, the most commonly reported main reason for not making online purchases was a lack of need (40% of people who did not make online purchases), followed by security concerns (18%) and preference for shopping in person (18%). For people aged 15-17 years, the main reason was a lack of a credit card (37%) followed by a lack of need (32%).

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