88 per cent of household internet users have performed one or more e-commerce activity in the last six months, reveals this report on Australian consumer participation in the digital economy.

Banking transactions, purchasing goods or services and paying bills online were the most popular e-commerce activities undertaken by survey respondents.

The report finds that the majority of Australians with a household internet connection are adept at engaging in a range of different e-commerce activities online, with nearly two-thirds (62 per cent) of respondents undertaking at least four different types of e-commerce activities in the last six months.

Two-thirds of household internet users (69 per cent) indicated they have purchased at least one good or service online in the last six months. The most popular goods and services purchased by Australian consumers were: travel goods and services (56 per cent); event, concert or movie tickets (43 per cent) and household goods including furniture, electrical appliances, computer equipment (37 per cent).

The report also finds that e-commerce activity is influenced by age, gender, household income, level of education and employment. In general, those consumers with higher levels of education, income and in some form of employment are more likely to engage in e-commerce.

Key highlights are:

> Broadly, the incidence of e-commerce activity is shown to decrease with increasing age, while the types of goods or services purchased online differ across age groups. Respondents aged 25 to 34 years had the highest incidence of purchasing online, with 82 per cent purchasing a good or service online. This figure decreases in a linear fashion to 38 per cent for people aged 65 years and above. Those aged 18 to 24 years cited the purchase of event, concert or movie tickets as the most popular purchase, while respondents in all other age groups reported travel goods and services as the most popular online purchase.

> There was a general trend demonstrating e-commerce increases with increasing household income. For example, consumers with a high household income (more than $150,000 per annum) had a higher incidence of purchasing online at 88 per cent, compared to those with a low household income (under $25,000 per annum) at 48 per cent. Those with a high household income were more likely than those earning under $25,000 to purchase travel goods and services online (74 per cent compared to 32 per cent).

> Respondents with higher levels of education were more likely to engage in e-commerce than those with a lower level of education. As the level of education increased, so too did the proportion of respondents that indicated they had purchased a good or service online; with 83 per cent of respondents with a post graduate qualification purchasing online compared to only 50 per cent of respondents with some secondary school education.

> Compared to retired and unemployed respondents, employed respondents (full-time, part-time or casual capacity) recorded higher incidences of online purchasing at 78 per cent, 73 per cent and 71 per cent respectively.

> Males were more likely than females to have made purchases online (74 per cent compared to 65 per cent). The types of goods and services bought also differed, with males more likely than females to purchase household goods including furniture, electrical appliances or computer equipment (44 per cent compared to 30 per cent). Females were more likely than males to purchase health and beauty products (25 per cent compared to 12 per cent).