Australians are flocking to e-commerce at an ever-increasing rate. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) more than 1.3 million Australian adults purchased or ordered goods and services for their private use over the Internet in the 12 month period to November 2000.
As with anything, trust is a big part of a working relationship, and Australian households have surpassed introductory conversation and are on a first name basis with the Internet. So cosy are relations that by November 2000, 2.7 million Australian households had home Internet access and the expectation is that by the end of 2001, every second home will have Internet access.
The enticement to embrace IT for day-to-day activities is wrapped up in the attractive benefits of online interaction. Firstly, online sites are convenient--no queues in the shopping aisle or waiting for the next available teller at the bank. Collecting product information exercises only the fingers and can be done in a matter of minutes instead of days; and there are no scary sales people!
Ozbuy.com.au, which opened its virtual doors in October 1999, claims to see a 10 to 15 percent usage growth every month. "We never thought it would replace the bricks and mortar shops, we just thought it would be a great extension," says founder and Managing Director, Michael Glezerson. He attributes Ozbuy's growing success to the fulfilment of customers' needs and requests, customer service and satisfaction and the undeniable fact that "some of the [other] players have fallen by the way side."
The majority of buyers at Ozbuy.com.au are not first-time buyers. "Our buyers have usually bought from our Web site before, or are usually people who are familiar with the Internet," says Glezerson, reaffirming the idea that as familiarity with technology grows, so does usage.
