Federal budget spurred online spending spree

The eWAY H1 2015 Online Retail Report, released today, found eCommerce grew at steady pace throughout the financial year 2014-15, with a particularly strong finish in June.

The report said Australians spent a total of $18.3bn in the FY14-15.

Australian eCommerce firm eWAY, which processes a quarter of all online payments in Australia, reported a 21.7 per cent month on month growth in sales between May to June 2015 – compared to a 15 per cent growth from May to June in 2014.

The firm’s founder and CEO Matt Bullock pointed to the federal budget as a key driver in the spending spike.

“The spike seems to be related to the new federal budget allowing small businesses to claim instant tax deductions of up to $20,000, which also removed fringe benefits taxes on electronic company equipment,” he said.

“We saw an exponential growth in office supplies online sales during the first six months of the year, with sales climbing up especially in June.”

Mr. Bullock said 2015 is heading to be a record year for Australian eCommerce.

“Even though more and more Australian businesses are now selling and accepting payments online, the sector still has significant growth potential,” he said.

“In the past six months we’ve signed on an additional 3000 small businesses to eWAY, some of which are in industries that don’t traditionally accept online payments, such as plumbers or builders.

“A mix of seasonal sales, the end of the Financial Year and the Federal Budget 2015 skyrocketed online transactions in June. With the Australian dollar going down substantially during this half, the transaction volumes of physical purchases sent to international postcodes were up 35.5 per cent.

“There is a clear window of opportunity for small businesses to open up their offering to global markets, if they haven’t already. The increasingly sophisticated and cheap postage services make this more feasible than ever.”

eWay has established presences in Australia and New Zealand as well as Singapore, Britain, Hong Kong and Malaysia, and is planning entry into the US later this year.