2. A REVEALING GUIDE
There is no doubt technology has had on impact on societies but what are the
ramifications of technology when it comes to Australian individuals and businesses?
This report delves into this subject and asks the following:
• Whether it is knowing how many individuals or businesses have access to the internet
and the importance of fast internet speed
• What devices are used to access the internet and out of the plethora of those
devices which ones are individuals the most comfortable using
• The main search engines or platforms Australians use to browse for information and
engage in online activities
• What are Australians buying when shopping online
• Australia’s growing consumption of online content and the most popular streaming
services used by Australians
• The trends that are likely to happen over the next few years when it comes to
technology
4. CONNECTING TO THE INTERNET
Australia’s use and access of the internet has being steadily increasing since 2004 as
shown by a 2018 survey conducted. The key data indicates how integral and
intertwined the internet has become for many Australian households. With the total
number of households using the internet with the average household accessing the
internet increasing 1.5% yearly since 2004.
What is interesting about this survey is between 2014 to 2017 there is a plateauing effect
among internet access which judging by the data could predict a saturation point.
What is also noticeable about the data is that households with children under 15 have a
higher use of the internet compared to households that don’t have children under 15
5.
6. CONDUCTING BUSINESS
With access to the internet came a new opportunity for companies to try a new way of
conducting business. With a recent government survey indicting that 95% of
businesses use the internet however it should be noted that it is not used entirely for
commerce, rather different businesses will us the internet for specific activities.
E.g. Communicating with colleagues, suppliers, clients or business partners
The same survey also indicted that their is a rise of businesses employing the internet to
both have a web presence and a social media presence. With web presence
increasing slightly over the years while social media has being increasing more over
web but again the data indicates a plateauing effect
8. SPEED OF THE INTERNET
The use of the internet by both households and businesses has placed an emphasis on building
better infrastructure to both handle the increase of users accessing the internet but also to
increase the speed of the internet.
Why is internet speed important? To answer that question we need to look at the benefits of
having faster internet.
• Increased efficient and productivity for both individuals and businesses
• Quicker communication between individuals and businesses
• Reduces the chance of a slow connection when a large population using the internet
• Saves time, money and reduces stress, as there are going to be less problems
Australia has made great strides in improving the internet with the speed over the last 5 years
increasing yearly, however it should be noted that Australia is still below the global average and
only ranks 53th in 2021
9. A U S T R A L I A F I X E D
B R O A D B A N D R A N K I N G
25.8830.5335.11
58.83
85.32
0
20
40
60
80
100
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Internet Speed
Internet
Speed
G L O B A L F I X E D
B R O A D B A N D A V E R A G E
0
45.48
57.91
96.43
107.5
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Internet Speed
Internet
Speed
Measured in Mbps (Megabits per second)
Key Statistics from Speedtest global index
11. DIGITAL INNOVATION
The invention of smartphones has had a profound effect on how societies access the internet as it is no
longer confined to either a laptop or desktop. With the internet becoming more of a mainstay in our
personal lives, companies have begun to explore ways to connect their products to the internet,
some of this products would be thought to have no need of the internet but businesses still built in
the capacity.
A recent report conducted by the Australian communication and media authority produced two stats
concerning how people connected to the internet during 2019-2020. It found that the most
common devices used were
• Mobile Phones
• Laptops and desktops
• Tablets
However products such as televisions, refrigerators, wearable device and speaker systems, just to name
a few were among the top devices that could now connect to the internet.
12. AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS 2014-2017
26.7
18.6
42.1
66.4
91
91.4
25.1
26.1
26.8
61.9
86
93.6
0 50 100
Gaming Consoles
Digital Player
Smart Television
Tablet
Smart Phone
Desktop and Laptops
2014-2015
2016-2017
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics - Household use of information technology
13. AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA
AUTHORITY 2019-2020
29
49
60
61
76
91
24
48
48
56
69
87
0 20 40 60 80 100
Digital Media Player
Desktop Computer
Smart Television
Tablet
Laptop
Mobile Phone
2019
2020
Source: Australian Communications and Media Authority - Trends in online behaviour and technology usage
15. CHANNELS OF INFORMATION
When it comes to browsing for information using a search engine, the most consistent
answer is that most Australians will use google which currently has the majority of
market share with 94% of the market with it’s closest rival Bing only having
3.86%.(Statcounter,2021)
Social media is fast becoming a way for people to obtain information especially when it
comes to YouTube and Facebook. Currently both platforms are similarity ties for most
popular social media but both provide different ways for their audiences to gather
information.
YouTube is based solely on providing video content to its consumers which can delve into
how to videos, snippets of the news or simple to in-depth videos about certain topics.
Based on what people watch YouTube’s algorithm makes recommendations on what
might interest a individual
Facebook offers its audience many ways to gain information whether it links to news
articles, videos of interest or friends post that has being shared. However Facebook is
highly tailored to an individual preferences and is not able to provide all an persons
need’s
16. ONLINE ACTIVITIES
Although we have an idea of the channels Australians are using to search for information
the next question to ask is what are their activities online.
The top three answers: accessing emails (98%), web browsing (96%) or watching videos
(89%) but discounting these three reasons what are they really doing online.
When comparing two surveys from 2020 all the way back to 2014, the data shows that
very little has changed when it comes to the next 5 reasons.
In 2020 Banking (89%), accessing the news (86%), shopping (83%), Social media
engagement (73%) and audio content (69%) were the main online activities of this
survey.
When compared to the 2014-2017 survey shows banking was the main reason for online
activity followed by social media, shopping, entertainment, formal education and
health services were the top activities during those years
17. TOP 5 REASONS TO ACCESS THE INTERNET 2014-
2017
21.80% 25.50%
59.80% 61.10%
72% 72.50%
46.10%
31.70%
80%
72.60%
79.90% 79.50%
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
90.00%
2014-2015
2016-2017
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics - Household use of information technology
18. TOP 5 REASONS TO ACCESS THE INTERNET 2019-
2020
86%
N/A*
83%
N/A*
65%
89% 86%
78%
73%
69%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Banking Access News Purchasing
Goods and
Services
Social
Networking
Audio
Content
2019
2020
*2019 Accessing news and Social networking were not asked during that years survey
Source: Australian Communications and Media Authority - Trends in online behaviour and technology usage
20. E - COMMERCE
Compared to the rest of the world Australia’s e – commerce industry although steadily
increasing has being quite sluggish but as e – commerce becomes more of a mainstay
in the Australian economy the questions we need to ask is currently how many
people engage with online shopping, what is their purchasing behaviour and what are
they buying?
As of April 2020 their were more than 5.2 million people engaging in online shopping with
more than an additional 200,000 new consumers shopping online.
The buying behaviour of these consumers during this month can be summed up by the
following:
• “Out of the 200,000 new consumers 35.5% of them made a purchase more than once
and 16.7% of these as well shopped three times or more” (Australia post,2020)
• When it comes to shoppers who already engage in online shopping 52.6% of them
made a purchase of three times or more
21. SECTORS OF ONLINE
A 2020 report conducted by Australia post shows the top selling categories of
e-commerce. In order they go
• Fashion and apparel (25.9%)
• Home and garden (12.6%) – (Include consumer electronics)
• Health and beauty (9.4%)
• Hobbies and recreational goods (7.5%)
• Speciality food and liquor (5.9%)
When compared to 2018 fashion and apparel, homeware & appliances and health &
beauty, game and hobbies were the top categories.
It should be noted that variety stores such as eBay and Amazon placed the top of both
years. (Variety stores sell items from each category)
23. 2020 ONLINE SALES
33%
25.90%
12.60%
9.40%
7.50% 5.90%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Variety
Stores
Fashion and
Apparel
Home and
Garden
Health and
Beauty
Hobbies and
Recreational
Goods
Specialty
Food and
Liqour
Online Sales
Source: Australia Post - Inside Australian Online Shopping 2021 Report
24. HOW DO CONSUMERS PURCHASE ONLINE
As the graph shows what devices Australians are using to purchase online. As a result businesses need to
be aware of the shift for online shopping as 83% of adult Australians in 2020 purchased online compared
to 78% in 2019
87%
69%
56%
48%
91%
76%
61% 60%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Mobile Phone Laptop or
Computer
Tablet Smart
Television
2019
2020
Source: Australia Post - Inside Australian Online Shopping 2021 Report
26. CONSUMING VIDEO CONTENT
When people think of online video’s their mind instantly thinks of YouTube and while
YouTube does contribute a high degree of online videos being viewed it is not the
correct way to think about this topic.
Rather online videos is a broad term which ranges from YouTube to streaming services to
videos on blogs and articles or viewing content online from a television channel (E.G.
viewing a episode for those who missed it)
A snapshot of recent years shows that Australians are more spending time watching
videos online and has shown increases on a yearly basis
Currently Australia’s online video sector is larger than the more traditional free and paid
television sectors
28. ONLINE VIDEO MARKET SHARE
A 2020 report by Media Partners Asia outlines that revenue generated from online video
platforms produced $3.94 billion dollars ($2.9 billion USD) in revenue for 2020. By
2025 the prediction is that the industry will grow by 13% to reach $7.21 billion dollars
($5.3 billion)
This same report also included the companies that are the most active as well as their
market share. The two biggest platforms YouTube and Netflix together control 59% of
the marketplace revenue, with Stan (7%), sport OTT (7%) and BVOD – Broadcaster
video on demand(6%)
30. STREAMING ACTIVITIES
What do Australians like to stream current the main forms of activities are watching
videos, vlogs, podcasts, listening or watching music and listening to online radio
these are the main forms per month in 2021
When compared to 2019 the forms are massively different with the only reoccurring
activity is watching videos online and the activities revolve around video games with
audiences either playing videos games online, watching another person playing online
or watching a e sport tournament
Although two years separate these reports it shows how quickly events can change and
what was once the most popular activity is suddenly eclipsed by another. These two
years can also indicate a link to effects of the Covid crisis has had on the Australian
society.
32. PREDICTIONS OF CONSUMER TRENDS
What does the future hold for consumer used technology?
When it comes to access to the internet there is still room at the moment for increases for
users and businesses, however the gains are going to be slight and a prediction is that it
will become saturated in the next few years
With time new products and improved versions of existing products will be available on the
market to help consumers with accessing the internet but laptops, desktops and
smartphones will still hold the majority of the share of devices used
Google will likely remain as the number one search engine used by Australians for the next
few years with hardly any change in its market share with Facebook and YouTube being
the most popular social media for information
The E commerce sector will continue to grow with predictions that the top category will
continue to be fashion and apparel. However yearly changes of the top selling
categories likely to change over the following years.
Australia’s compulsion for viewing online content is on track to grow in the upcoming years
with more Australians spending even more time viewing online content and paying for
additional streaming services. It should be noted that trends and events will play a role
in what content is going to be viewed
33. CONCLUSION
Australia’s use of technology has being steadily growing over the last few years and
decades, where it has gotten to the point that using technology and having access to
the internet is now fundamental to all households and businesses as the benefits of
having these formats are looking less like a luxury and becoming more integral to
daily life to succeed in anything but there are exception such as streaming services
that provide entertainment.
What is likely to happen is that all those subjects mention in this report are likely to
increase over time whether small or large and some sectors will even experience
stagnate grow but technological innovation will bring new opportunities and new
ways of doing activities that will either enhance some sectors or render them
completely obsolete
34. REFERENCES
Connecting to the Internet
https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/industry/technology-and-innovation/household-use-information-technology/latest-release
https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/industry/technology-and-innovation/summary-it-use-and-innovation-australian-business/latest-release
https://www.speedtest.net/global-index
https://finance.nine.com.au/personal-finance/australias-fixed-internet-speed-ranking-falls-two-places-to-55th/032cc5f5-0466-4067-b4fa-
93eb34ff290e
https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2018/06/where-does-australia-rank-on-internet-speeds-and-do-rankings-matter/
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/australia-falls-to-the-ridiculously-low-62nd-place-in-global-internet-speed-rankings-2019-4
https://pentanet.com.au/blog/australia-ranks-61-speed-index/
https://www.speedtest.net/global-index/australia
Digital Innovations
https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/industry/technology-and-innovation/household-use-information-technology/latest-release
https://www.acma.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-09/Trends-in-online-behaviour0-and-technology-usage-ACMA-consumer-survey-2020.pdf