Australia Post has released its 2026 eCommerce Report, its eleventh annual read on how the country shops online. It's written for retailers, but if you import or manufacture the products those retailers sell — or you sell them yourself — the demand signals in it should shape what you source next. Here are the findings that matter most for Australian small businesses buying from overseas, and what we'd do about them.

Online spending is still climbing — but shoppers are less loyal than ever

Australians spent a record $82.6 billion online in 2025, up 14% year-on-year, now making up 24% of all retail spend. Yet the average household bought from 16 different retailers over the year — a figure that has more than doubled in a decade. Shoppers browse selectively, chase value and switch brands without hesitation.

For anyone sourcing product, that cuts both ways. A growing market means more room to win, but low loyalty means you win on value and differentiation, not on a customer's habit. Landed cost and a product that genuinely stands out are your leverage — and both are decided at the sourcing stage, long before the listing ever goes live.

Baskets are getting smaller and more frequent

The average online basket was $96, slightly down on the year, while Australians made four more online purchases each than the year before. People are buying little and often. That rewards products with strong repeat-purchase potential, sensible pack sizes, and unit economics that still work at lower order values.

When you brief a supplier, think in terms of the price point and pack format the market actually buys at — not just the cheapest per-unit quote on a large carton. The right MOQ and packaging decision upstream is what keeps a small, frequent purchase profitable.

Marketplaces are the growth engine

Pure marketplaces like Amazon and Temu took $18.9 billion in 2025 (up 13%), around 23% of all online spend. They compete on price, range and one-stop convenience — and in doing so they set the price expectation your customers carry into every other store they visit.

If you're sourcing to sell against that, your cost base has to be competitive from the factory floor up. If you're selling on those platforms, the same is true with marketplace fees stacked on top. Either way, margin is made when you negotiate the order — not when you discount at checkout.

Where the demand is growing

Every major category grew by double digits in 2025. The fastest movers were books, stationery and multimedia (+24.1%), department-store goods (+19.5%), hobbies and recreational goods (+17.1%), consumer electronics (+16%), and health and beauty (+15.1%), with home and garden, food, liquor and fashion all growing as well.

If you're deciding what to bring in next, these are the categories where the wind is at your back. Just remember that electrical, electronic and many consumer goods carry Australian compliance obligations — factor certification such as the RCM into the plan before you place the order, not after the container lands.

Delivery is now a conversion lever

Three in four shoppers say a good delivery experience makes them shop online more, 69% want a range of delivery options at checkout, and 32% would switch retailers to get out-of-home collection like Parcel Lockers. Speed matters too: 43% will pay extra for same- or next-day delivery.

Delivery performance actually starts upstream. Reliable lead times, accurate carton counts and correct labelling from your supplier are what let you promise — and keep — a good delivery experience. Sloppy packing overseas becomes damaged stock and refunds at home, and no local logistics choice can fully undo it.

What's coming: recommerce and agentic commerce

Two shifts are worth watching. Second-hand shopping is going mainstream — 46% of Australians buy pre-loved each year, and 73% say they'd buy refurbished goods directly from retailers — which puts a premium on durable, repairable products. And 'agentic commerce', where AI agents research and buy on a shopper's behalf, is projected to influence around 30% of digital commerce transactions by 2030.

Agents compare on structured data: price, specifications and delivery. Clean, accurate product information — much of it originating from your supplier's spec sheets and test reports — is quietly becoming a sales asset. Getting that detail right at the source pays off further down the line than ever before.

What we'd take from it

The through-line for importers is simple: demand is strong, but it flows to whoever offers clear value on a product that stands out and arrives reliably. All three are set at the sourcing stage — the price you negotiate, the product you develop and the supplier you can trust to ship it right.

If you'd like help turning these trends into a sourcing plan — the right product, a verified supplier and a landed cost that leaves room to compete — that's exactly what we do at Tasman Global. Get in touch and we'll help you source for where the market is heading, not where it's been.

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Source: Australia Post eCommerce Report 2026.