Media Release: Australians ‘buying local’ online

The Morrison Government welcomes new research released today showing that Australians are increasingly supporting local businesses online.

Conducted by Venture Insights on behalf of NBN Co, the research found that 49 per cent of respondents have increased their spending on online shopping since social distancing measures came into effect. More than two thirds (70 per cent) are consciously supporting local businesses online.

More than two thirds (70 per cent) of respondents also said they would like to support more local businesses, but were restricted by the limited digital presence of those businesses.

Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher MP, said Australians have shown remarkable community spirit and are supporting each other where they can, including backing local businesses during these challenging times.

“Businesses have encountered many unprecedented challenges during COVID-19, and what this research shows is that there is a significant opportunity for businesses to expand online and harness the very strong ‘buy local’ sentiment of consumers,” said Minister Fletcher.

“The survey results show that people are committing to local businesses and would spend even more of their hard-earned money locally if businesses were more accessible online.

“There are now more than one million businesses now on the NBN. However, many smaller businesses are still on residential-grade plans and may benefit from a business-grade service with additional features such as symmetrical speeds and priority support to minimise down-time. I encourage Australian businesses to speak to a telecommunications retail service provider to find a plan best suited to their business requirements and to invest in digital channels to make the most of increasing demand for online commerce.”

NBN Co’s Behavioural Change Survey looks at how Australians’ internet habits have changed during social distancing, and how they may change once restrictions ease.

For more information on the survey and NBN Co’s COVID-19 support visit NBN Co’s website.

Background

• This research was undertaken by Venture Insights on behalf of NBN Co in April 2020.
• The survey was conducted nationally across Australia and required a representative survey sample across available geographic regions. 1,006 respondents aged 18+ completed the survey.
• 77 per cent of the respondents belonged to a metro area, and 23 per cent to a regional area.