The number of online shoppers in Austria is constantly increasing, with changing purchasing behaviour of the "generation 50+” and a significant increase in smartphone shopping, the latest study of the Austrian retail trade association revealed.
Conducted in cooperation with the platform “Mail order and e-commerce” and KMU Research Austria, the study “Consumer behaviour in distance selling 2015” revealed that the increasing trend towards shopping via smartphones has changed the Austrian e-commerce sector considerably. From May 2014 to April 2015, 14% of Austrians shopped for retail goods via their smartphones at least once, compared to only 9% during the corresponding period the previous year. This equals a year-on-year increase of over 60% reaching 1 million smartphone shoppers.
“The smartphone is our magic wand for more revenues and better results which our latest study confirms in an impressive way,” said Harald Gutschi, spokesman for Unito / Otto Group (Hermes parent company) and head of the platform “Mail order and e-commerce”.
Dr. Ernst Gittenberger from KMU Research Austria confirmed that sales via smartphones have also developed dynamically during the research period showing a 40% increase (which corresponds to €100 million additional revenues). Overall ‘smartphone spending’ now amounts to around €350 million in Austria annually. Especially in the clothing sector, the sales are growing rapidly. Sales via smartphones are mainly driven by the youngest group of buyers aged 15-29.
The young online shoppers represent the age group generally most interested in mobile-commerce and multi-channel, with 31% of those aged 15-29 already buying retail goods via their smartphones. They also often compare prices in store via a smartphone to finally purchase the product via internet. The “Click & Collect” service option which combines online orders with in-store pick-ups is also becoming increasingly popular, especially among the age groups 15-29 and 30-39.
The proportion of the distance trade in overall retail sales for “non-food” products is already about 16% in Austria. This means that every sixth euro is spent online, every fifth when it comes to textiles and every third for books and electronics.
Due to the increasing number of Austrian online shoppers, with 120,000 additional e-shoppers during the study period, total expenditure in the country’s distance trade increased by 3% to a record high of €7.1 billion.
This was especially due to the increasing number of online shoppers aged 50-59 who have discovered the distance trade as an appropriate shopping method for themselves. Compared to the previous year, the share of online shoppers aged 50-59 increased from 58% in 2014 to 65% in 2015. The highest share is observed among the people aged 30-39 with 85%, followed by the youngest online shoppers aged 15-29.
“The generation 50+ is becoming increasingly tech-savvy recognising the benefits of the digital age,” Rainer Will, managing director of the Austrian Retail Trade Association, said. “Thanks to creative solutions along the last mile, this age group still offers high growth potential.”
The study surveyed 2,000 Austrian consumers on their purchasing behaviour in distance trade, which comprises both online trade and the traditional mail order trade as well as teleshopping.
