The Australian online retail market will be worth $AUD64.9 billion by 2025, equating to a phenomenal 21.87% CAGR, making Australia one of the best e-commerce countries in the Asia-Pacific region. With 17.08 million Australians shopping online monthly—at 63.94% of the population—and 9.8 million households buying products via digital means, now is the best time for firms to develop winning ecommerce applications.
This is an all-in-one guide that enables business owners, entrepreneurs, and decision makers based in Australia to learn everything to do with e-commerce app development in 2025, featuring real cost analysis, comparison of platforms, legal compliance, consumer behavior insights, and industry-specific advice based on real market data.
Australian Ecommerce Market Size 2020-2030—10 Years Forecast (AUD Billions)
To be able to understand what the situation is and what we could expect from the Australian e-commerce market will let the company directly invest in developing solutions for e-commerce applications.
The Australian e-commerce industry is expected to generate total revenue of 64.9 billion AUD in 2025, as per the industry report by IBISWorld. When further analyzed, retail ecommerce is responsible for AUD 46.2 billion, with the rest coming from digital services, subscriptions, and B2B deals.
To put that in perspective, online shopping now makes up 16.8 percent of all retail sales in Australia—up 68 percent from the pre-pandemic level of about 10 percent. And this change is not “just for now”; indeed, consumers have undergone a transformation, making online purchasing an enduring component of Australian shopping behavior.
The monthly online retail turnover in 2024 reached AUD 4.143 billion in August 2024 alone, an increase of $495 million from April 2023. The figures prove to be stable month-to-month growth rather than seasonal spikes.
The market is not cooling down. It is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.” The Australian e-commerce industry is estimated to hit AUD $107 billion by 2027 and AUD $108.16 billion by 2030 with a CAGR of 21.87%—one of the highest in developed markets.
Several aspects contribute to this intensified growth:
The thriving economy is owing to interest rates leveling off and inflationary pressures abating, resulting in consumers having more disposable income. 5G network coverage in cities and rural areas, providing faster mobile shopping experiences and increasing mobile checkout conversion rates by about 1.7% annually. Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) is dominated by Afterpay, which is expanding at a CAGR of 14.7% and driving increased average order values, especially among Gen Z and Millennial consumers. Expansion of dark store grocery to support sub-2-hour delivery in capital cities (SYD, MEL, BNE), allowing online grocery shopping to finally be competitive with traditional supermarkets.
It was estimated that the pandemic had sped up digital adoption by five to seven years, with change that would have otherwise been gradual taking place very quickly. The data indicates this acceleration is not reversing—Australians who took up online shopping under COVID-19 restrictions have maintained these habits, with many increasing their online spending.
As of June 2025, 17.08 million Australians shop online every month, a dramatic increase of 45% from 2020, which had 11.78 million online shoppers. The surge is definitely real and deeply rooted across demographics, and not just “early adopters” or tech-savvy youth.
Compared to the individuals, 9.8 million Australian households purchased online in 2024, an increase from 8.2 million in 2019—growing by 19.5% over five years. It is 굳 particularly interesting to gauge household data, as it suggests that entire families are shopping online, so this is not a single member of the family shopping online; that would be somewhat understandable.
More interesting are the generational spending trends:
Spending by Gen Y (Millennials) is the highest at AUD $22.1 billion, but this is also represents a 2% year-over-year decline, which could indicate that this cohort is maxing out in terms of spending. They shop weekly and primarily for fashion and electronics, with an average basket size of £95 per transaction (£95/transaction).
With a steady growth, Gen X increased its spending by 1% year-over-year to spend AUD $17.5 billion. Although they are the second-biggest spenders overall, they have the largest basket size (AUD $110), purchasing on a biweekly basis, and their core categories are home & garden and health.
Baby Boomers, on the other hand, spent a solid AUD $12.4 billion. Their average basket is AUD 105, and they shop on a monthly basis, focused on health and home—a type of consumer that is rarely talked about but with a ton of purchasing power to boot.
With a growth rate of 8% year-over-year spending to AUD $10.6 billion, Gen Z is also the fastest-growing group. Their average basket size is a fair bit smaller—AUD 68—but they tend to shop 2-3 times a week, so their frequency of engagement is quite high. They have a preference for fashion, beauty, and gaming products and are the most likely to shop on mobile and pay via BNPL options.
Smartphones are no longer merely browsing devices; they are the addressable market device for making a purchase. Now more than ever, mobile behavior is dictating that e-commerce applications must put mobile user experience first, or they will lose the majority of their audience.
The continuing 5G roll is boosting further mobile commerce. The smoother checkout processes and fewer abandoned carts induced by better connectivity are also expected to increase mobile conversion rates by 1.7% per year—not an insignificant effect when you apply it to billions of transactions.
Now, one of the first questions Australian businesses ask when they are contemplating e-commerce development is, “How much is this going to cost?” The answer varies based on a range of factors, such as the complexity of the project, the features needed, the platform chosen, and if you decide to go with off-the-shelf products or custom development.
A minimal small business ecommerce site is AUD$3,000 to $7,000 with a 2-4 week schedule. This plan is dedicated to startups and small retailers that want to create their first online store. At this price, you should expect the following from yours:
A template-based design on Shopify, WooCommerce, and more platforms. Basic ecommerce capabilities include a product catalog (up to 50-100 products), shopping cart, basic checkout, and payment gateway integration. Limited customization—working within platform constraints instead of creating unique features. Basic mobile-responsive but not necessarily mobile-first shopper-optimized design.
This is the right choice if your products and business model are solidly in the traditional ecommerce mold. For instance, a small boutique selling clothes and shipping them straightforward can profit here.
Tailored medium business ecommerce fees range from AUD$8,000 to $20,000 with a 1-3 month project duration. This mid-tier option is perfect for expanding companies that have specific requirements that cannot be met with templates You get:
Tailor-made design that reflects your brand—not just a template but a custom user experience. Features such as customer accounts, wishlists, product filtering, review systems, email marketing integration, and more. Third-party integrations include CRM systems (Salesforce, HubSpot) Inventory Management Accounting Software (Xero, MYOB), and Shipping APIs (Australia Post, Starshipit).
This level is perfect when your business requires unique features—like a vitamin seller offering subscription boxes, or a home furnishings merchant with room visualization tools, or a food company with sophisticated delivery zone management.
Enterprise ecommerce platform: AUD $25,000 to $70,000+ 3-6 month timeline. This outlay is fit for large-scale retailers and multi-vendor marketplaces that need complex functionality. Products included are:
Multi-vendor marketplace with a lot of the same features that Amazon, Etsy, etc., offer— Multiple sellers, commission tracking, vendor analytics, separate logins and dashboards. Sophisticated multi-warehouse inventory management, real-time stock monitoring, automated replenishment, and dropshipping support. Complex business logic: tiered prices, bulk discounts, B2B wholesale portals, customer-specific prices, and negotiated pricing. Robust Infrastructure Thousands of products, high traffic volume, international customers, and different currencies. AI-driven capabilities: personalized product recommendations, dynamic pricing, chatbots, and search engine optimization.
Cust Mobile e-commerce app development cost (iOS + Android): 15,000–50,000 AUD 2-5 Months Timeline. This is the development of native or hybrid mobile applications separate from your website. Mobile apps provide:
Push notification support for abandoned cart recovery, sales alerts, and order status. Better experience than mobile web—ease of use, speed, smoother animations, and offline usage. Camera (for scanning barcodes), GPS (store locator), biometric authentication, mobile wallet, etc. More customer engagement & loyalty—users who download your app are known to spend 30-40% more as compared to website-only users.
Whether you’re creating a native app (iOS and Android separately, generally more expensive) or a cross-platform app (React Native or Flutter, more cost-effective) greatly affects the final price tag. Most Australian e-commerce companies launch with a responsive website and add native apps later when they’ve proven product-market fit.
Shopify continues to be the most widely used platform for online stores in Australia, with 41.65% (142,040 businesses) using it. Understanding the Shopify-related costs helps a majority of the Australian businesses to set budgets.
E-commerce Platform Market Share in Australia (2025)
The basic Shopify store setup fees are $500 to $1,000 for the first year, which includes:
Monthly fees: AUD $42-$439, depending on plan (Basic, Shopify, Advanced). Most small businesses begin with the Basic plan for AUD $42/month. Purchase of theme: Premium Shopify themes are priced between AUD $300 and $1,000 one-time. Free themes are ok but paid themes have better design, more features, and are faster. Important apps: Allow AUD $15-$50/month for apps that add features that Shopify doesn’t come with out of the box—email marketing, reviews, product filters, and inventory sync.
The setup is quick (1-2 weeks), so Shopify is good for on-the-fly launches. You can have an active online store up and running in just a few days.
Bespoke Shopify development prices start at AUD $10,000+ with an estimated timeframe of 2-4 months if you require custom features that go beyond Shopify’s standard offering. This includes:
Build a custom theme from scratch rather than customizing existing templates. Advanced integrations with proprietary systems—specialized ERPs, custom CRMs, and unique fulfillment providers. Custom apps tailored to your unique business logic that aren’t available in Shopify’s app store. Elaborate checkout customization requires Shopify Plus (the enterprise tier, which begins at AUD $2000/month).
Monthly upkeep is AUD $150 – $1,000+, depending on site complexity and level of support. This includes:
Hosting fees (AUD $10-$50/month for self-hosted platforms like WooCommerce, included in Shopify subscription). Security updates and patches—updating your platform, plugins, and integrations. Bug fixes and small tweaks—once the platform is live or as requirements change. Content updates if you don’t do them yourself—adding products, updating pages, and creating landing pages. Performance monitoring and tuning—monitoring load times as product catalogs increase in size.
Maintenance fees usually cost between AUD $1,800 and $12,000+. It sounds costly, but you pay less for preventive care than for having to deal with security breaches, site downtime, or lost sales due to performance issues.
A lot of Aussie businesses underestimate how much ongoing maintenance costs and only budget for initial development. Expect running costs from the beginning—a $10,000 website doesn’t stop at $10,000.
There are a few other things that impact your overall spend besides the base price:
Complexity : Simple templates are cheaper, and custom branded designs with animations, custom photography, and unique layouts range from AUD $3,000 to $10,000. Product quantity: Handling 50 products are easy, but 1,000+ products require advanced search, filtering, faceted navigation, and database optimization. Integration needs: Every third-party system integration (ERP, CRM, POS, shipping, accounting) runs AUD $1,000-$5,000 in fees. Custom functionality: Basic ecommerce is relatively inexpensive; subscription boxes, product customizers, AR try-ons, appointment booking, or multi-vendor marketplaces can be costly. Regulations to meet: GDPR for EU clients, PCI DSS for payment handling, and sector-specific regulations call for even more safeguards and paperwork.
Developer location also matters. Australian development agencies charge AUD $80 to $150 per hour, while offshore teams in India or Eastern Europe charge between AUD $25 and $60 per hour. Onshore allows for better communication, timezone alignment, and knowledge of Australian laws (GST, ACL, Privacy Act), while offshore provides cost savings but more difficulty coordinating.
Choosing the right e-commerce platform for your business is going to be one of the biggest decisions you make and affect your development costs, your ongoing expenses, how far you can grow, and even your ability to implement marketing plans.
The Australian e-commerce platform market has a distinct taste:
Shopify accounts for 41.65% of the market, with 142,040 stores across the world. This is what makes Shopify the most popular choice for Australian companies, especially for small to medium retailers.
WooCommerce is at 27.45% with 93,610 stores. Since it is a WordPress plugin, it is a natural pick for businesses that are already using WordPress or for those who want the most customization options.
Wix accounts for 7.54% with 25,720 stores. Wix is popular with beginners and creative professionals who want all-in-one website builders that include e-commerce capabilities.
Custom solutions account for about 10-15% with ~40,000 stores Custom solutions account for about 40,000 stores. These are companies that either have such specific needs that platforms cannot serve them, or they want/serve their own technology stack.
BigCommerce, Magento, and other platforms account for the remaining ~12-15%, serving niche needs or particular business models.
Hosted platform dominance (Shopify, Wix, and BigCommerce) at 53% combined is a testament to the Australian favoring of managed solutions with minimal technical overhead—the line of business wants to be selling, not managing servers.
Shopify is the best option for 70-80% of Australia’s e-commerce industry in terms of usability, feature availability, scalability, and support of the ecosystem.
Reasons Shopify leads:
Managed hosting included No server management, automatic updates, and 99.99% uptime. Non-tech founders can add products, fulfill orders, and tweak designs without developers. Huge app ecosystem—there are more than 8,000 apps that address pretty much every business need imaginable, from accounting and marketing to inventory. Built-in payment processing—with competitive rates (1.6% + 30¢ in Australia). Use Shopify Payments for easy payment processing. Great mobile experience—out of the box, stores look great on smartphones. 24/7 support in multiple languages, including English, is critical for businesses in Australia.
Pricing per month: Basic solution AUD $42/month, Shopify solution AUD $105/month, Advanced AUD $439/month. For the majority of small businesses and the medium-sized ones, the AUD $42 Basic plan contains all the resources sufficient to raise the flag successfully.
Beware of these limitations:
Transaction fees (0.5 to 2%) are on top if you aren’t using Shopify Payments, which means it gets costly to utilize other payment processors. Less flexibility than open source solutions—depth customization needs developer skills. App fees are cumulative—Shopify itself is affordable, but you end up paying $50 to $200 AUD/month for the apps you actually need. Vendor lock-in—it can be difficult and costly to move away from Shopify down the line.
Ideal for: Retailers selling physical products, dropshipping companies, small to medium stores, businesses needing to launch quickly, and non-technical entrepreneurs.
WooCommerce accounts for 27.45% of Australian e-commerce, with a strong presence among those businesses that already use WordPress for content marketing or blogging.
Why choose WooCommerce:
Free and open source—The plugin is free, but you have to pay for hosting, themes, and extensions. Unlimited customization—Because you have full access to the code, developers can design anything. No fees on transactions—WooCommerce does not charge you a percentage of sales. Huge plug-in ecosystem—There are thousands of WordPress plug-ins that allow you to extend what your site can do. Content marketing enabled—blog and store seamlessly combined for the SEO business.
Actual charges (not really free):
Hosting: AUD $10-$50/month for shared hosting or AUD $50-$200/month for managed WordPress hosting. Premium theme: AUD $50-$150. Essential plugins: AUD $100 to $500 a year for payment gateways, SEO tools, security, and backups. Developer fees: AUD $80-$150/hour to customize the code—you’ll need developers more frequently than you would with Shopify.
Full initial cost: Functional WooCommerce stores can cost between AUD $1,500 and $5,000 in their first year. We do not directly compare WooCommerce to Shopify, since the latter is a hosted solution, but WooCommerce is a little more involved in terms of technical know-how.
Best for: Businesses savvy with WordPress, content-heavy sites that require SEO, businesses that want to avoid transaction fees, and developers familiar with PHP.
With 3-5% market share, BigCommerce is a good fit for mid-sized to large businesses that want Shopify’s ease of use but with more native features and no transaction fees. Pricing is from AUD $43/month, comparable with Shopify.
Magento (2-3% market share) is designed for large enterprise clients and includes complex functionality and such areas as multilayered account structures. One-time implementation fees can range from AUD $2,000 to $100,000+ (or even more) depending on the complexity of the implementation. It is powerful, but you have to keep feeding it developers.
Custom solutions are the way to go when your business model doesn’t align well with any platform or you need an edge in the market through proprietary technology. Expect to pay AUD $30,000-$100,000+ for custom e-commerce from scratch.
Developing a great Australian e-commerce app takes more than just a catalog and a checkout. Today’s shoppers want advanced features that make shopping easier and more enjoyable and that also help them trust the retailer.
Mobile-first design is a must now when 65% of transactions occur on mobile devices. Your app needs to load quickly, look great, and make it simple for users to buy on mobile.
More payment methods can increase conversion rates. Australian consumers expect:
Credit/debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex)—68% of drags and drops. PayPal—42% usage, especially for international purchases or customers who prefer not to enter card details directly. Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL)—Afterpay (38% usage) and Zip Pay (25% usage) lead to 15-20% higher average order values for Gen Z and Millennials. Apple Pay & Google Pay – 35% and 28% usage, respectively, allowing one tap checkout for mobile users. Bank transfer—Used for 15%, mainly for B2B and large orders.
Secure checkout with an SSL certificate (HTTPS) is a must—browsers will warn the user that a site is not secure and you are obligated to take reasonable steps to secure your customer’s data under the Australian Consumer Law.
Clear shipping policies prior to checkout reduce abandonment—Australians are looking for delivery cost and time expectations. Integrate with Australia Post, StarTrack, Sendle, or any other local carrier for live rates.
Product search and filtering is essential after you have more than 50-100 products—the users want to filter thousands of available options by category, price, size, color, brand, and rating.
The customer account allows you to have access to your order history, saved addresses, and wishlists and makes it easier to reorder—repeat customers have a lifetime value that is 60-70% higher than that of a first-time buyer.
Mobile-optimized order, shipping, and delivery confirmation emails keep customers up-to-date and reduce support tickets.
Product recommendations and personalization powered by AI drive a 10-30% increase in average order value. “Customers who bought this also bought…” tactics, or “Based on your browsing history” recommendations, can transform a one-item order into a multi-item order.
Subscription and recurring payments for consumable goods (vitamins, coffee, pet food, razors) lead to higher customer lifetime value and more predictable revenue. BNPL companies are also branching out into subscriptions.
Augmented reality (AR) product visualization allows consumers to place furniture in their homes or try on glasses online, lowering return rates by 25-40% for eligible products. #
Live chat and chatbots provide answers to FAQs in real time to reduce cart abandonment by 15-20%—many Australian consumers shop outside business hours and expect instant help. #
Reward programs and points systems encourage customers to buy again—67% of customers spend more in order to get more rewards. #
Abandoned cart recovery emails recover 20-30% of sales left in the cart by reminding customers there is a purchase request awaiting to be filled and sometimes including an incentive to finish the purchase.
Reviews and consumer content create trust—88% of consumers read reviews before buying, and products with reviews have a 105% higher conversion rate than those without.
A lot of Australian businesses sell both to the consumer (B2C) and to the business (B2B) end, and they’ve established some pretty specific needs:
Unique pricing levels for different customer groups—wholesale, retail, VIP, and employee discounts. Request quotes and negotiations on major orders that require approval. Payment term net payment terms (Net 30, Net 60) rather than immediate payment. Bulk order and reorder with CSV upload or saved order templates. Multi-user accounts where procurement managers place orders but finance approves.
Australia’s ecommerce companies must contend with multiple levels of laws and regulations. Breaching regulations is not only a risk but also a costly one, with penalties of up to AUD $2.5 million for major privacy offenses and up to AUD $220,000 for each day of breach of spam laws.
If your business has an annual turnover of more than $75,000, you are obligated to register for the GST within 21 days. This threshold is applicable to Australian as well as non-Australian businesses that are selling to customers in Australia.
A 10 percent Goods and Services Tax (GST) is added on most products and services. As a business you’re registered with:
Apply GST, where applicable, to your products and services when charging your customers. Issue tax invoices with the ABN of the supplier and the amount of GST (if any) payable.
Pay the net GST to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
Penalties for not registering include having to retrospectively account for GST (you are liable for the GST from the time you should have registered), and on top of that, fines and interest. If you went over the $75,000 AUD mark six months ago and you haven’t registered yet, you need to pay six months of uncollected GST from your own pocket.
Benefits of voluntary registration under the AUD $75,000 threshold for businesses not required to register include:
Access to GST credits on business purchases and imported goods. Looking more established to B2B customers who prefer to buy from GST suppliers. Provide GST invoices, which B2B customers can claim back.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission would have responsibility to regulate under the ACL all e-commerce dealings in Australia.
Key requirements:
Your products must be as described on your website—if you say your T-shirts are made from “100% organic cotton,” then they really need to be made from 100% organic cotton. Consumer guarantees apply—a product must be fit for purpose, of acceptable quality, and as described, and it carries with it an express or implied promise that it will be repaired, replaced, or refunded if it fails. Clear pricing (including GST)—the price shown is the price you pay, with no surprises or extra charges at the end of the checkout. Truth in Advertising—no false or misleading statements about the products, prices, discounts, and availability. Legitimate reviews only—writing fake reviews or paying for positive reviews breaches ACL.
Mandatory policies for your website:
A Terms and Conditions policy that covers the sales process, payment details, delivery options, and limitations of liability. Your process for returns along with what customers are entitled to under the ACL with your Returns and Refunds Policy. Privacy policy that describes the manner in which personal information is collected, stored, used, and protected. Delivery Policy with information on delivery timeframes and costs or who is to bear the cost of delivery.
Consequences for breaching the ACL include enforcement action from the ACCC, fines, court orders, and damage to public reputation.
If you gather customer data (as all e-commerce stores do), you must comply with Australia’s Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).
Demands are:
Privacy policy posted on your website prior to the gathering of any data. Be upfront about the data collection you do—tell customers what information you’re collecting and why. Purpose limitation—only obtain data necessary to complete the transaction, and use it only for the purposes stated. Secure storage—take reasonable security precautions to protect the data against loss, misuse, unauthorized access, or disclosure. Customer access rights: customers have the right to access their account and view correct or pivot personal information. Data breach notification—notify the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and impacted individuals of significant breaches.
The penalties for serious breaches are up to AUD$2.5M, and reputation is severely impacted by data breaches—60% of customers cease their relationship with companies post breaches.
The equivalent in the world of online transactions is the Electronic Transactions Act 1999, which states that electronic transactions are to be treated as paper transactions; your digital receipts, contracts, and confirmations are legally binding.
Commercial email messages are subject to the Spam Act 2003 as follows:
Consent is needed—you must obtain, either way, the given thought, express or implied consent, prior to sending emails with your marketing. Transparency—emails should clearly identify your company and provide valid information about the sender. Opt-out option—there must be a functional opt-out option in every marketing e-mail, and you must comply with opt-out requests within 10 business days. Transactions vs marketing emails—an order confirmation, shipping notification, or password reset is transactional (and not spam), but you need permission to send promotional emails.
Spam Violation Penalties: AUD 220,000 daily for serious violations—such that a single mass email in breach of the Spam Act can rack up fines of several hundred thousand.
Knowledge of trends enables companies to develop applications that satisfy changing consumer demands rather than those of the past.
Afterpay-led BNPL services are increasing at 14.7% CAGR in Australia, with 38% of online transactions using Afterpay and 25% with Zip Pay.
Why BNPL is popular:
Gen Z and Millennials are more likely to use installments than credit cards—BNPL feels less like debt even though it is. Higher average order values—BNPL users tend to spend 15-20% more than card-only users. Easier budgeting—Breaking a $400 purchase into four $100 payments seems doable. No interest if paid on time, unlike credit cards.
For online retailers, adding BNPL leads to higher conversion and basket sizes, although BNPL fees (4-6%) are higher than card processing (1.5-3%)—you are paying more to your customer but getting more sales.
Mobile commerce accounts for 65% of transactions, and that number is only going up. The 5G deployment in big cities will bring:
Faster page loads—5G’s speeds are 10 to 100 times faster than those of 4G, which helps reduce bounce rates caused by slow loading. Better mobile experiences—smooth video, high-res images, and interactive features all play nice together. AR and VR shopping—augmented reality product visualization needs the high bandwidth that 5G can offer.
An increase in mobile conversion rates by 1.7% every year as a result of 5G rollout will mean millions more dollars for the Australian e-commerce industry.
Australian consumers are placing growing importance on sustainability, with 46% stating they are willing to pay more for sustainable products. Ecommerce applications should showcase:
Carbon neutral delivery options. Sustainable packaging (recycled, compostable). Ethical sourcing, Fair Trade certification. Local products, to minimize shipping distance.
Greenwashing is dangerous—the ACCC already prosecutes false environmental claims under the ACL.
Click-and-collect (buy online, pick up in store) is on the rise as it reduces last-mile delivery costs and taps into instant gratification. For applications in e-commerce, this means:
Real-time inventory visibility by location. Scheduling of in-store pickup with ready notifications. Frictionless online-to-store handoff for customers. #
This omnichannel trend is growing at a +1.9% CAGR impact, especially in suburban areas where customers favor avoiding shipping waits.
Using our 2025 analysis of the market, these are the best ways for Australian enterprises to enhance their e-commerce applications:
Begin with Shopify for 70% of businesses—Shopify provides the best overall user experience and ecosystem support for AUD $42-$105/month, unless you have specialized technical requirements or existing WordPress infrastructure.
Realistically budget—expect to pay AUS$5,000 to AUS$15,000 for initial development and AUS$2,000 to AUS$5,000 annually for maintenance. Insufficient budgeting results in poorer quality or missing features.
Roll in BNPL from day one—BNPL providers Afterpay and Zip Pay are expected by 63% of under-35 buyers. You risk alienating and losing a chunk of Gen Z and Millennial sales by not offering BNPL.
Register for GST prior to AUD $75,000 turnover—save yourself the trouble of backdated liability and look more professional to B2B customers.
Put mobile experience ahead of desktop [with] 65% mobile share—design and develop for phones first, then for desktop.
Have full legal compliance on day one—you can’t just throw in privacy policies, terms and conditions, and proper data handling when you’re bigger; your dirty little secrets will be used against you.
Concentrate on fast-growing segments—food & drink (13.6% CAGR), beauty & fitness, and health & wellness register the best growth trends.
Make use of the e-commerce resources from Australia Post—they have a suite of reports, shipping tools, and support specifically designed for online retailers.
Continuously measure and refine—track results with Google Analytics, conversion tracking, and A/B testing to figure out what’s effective.
The 2025 Australian e-commerce market is poised for significant growth—from AUD $64.9 billion in current revenue to $108 billion by 2030—but navigating a path to success requires consideration of strategic platform selection, realistic budgeting, legal compliance, and customer-centric application development.
For Australian companies that are preparing to gain online application traction or improve upon existing e-commerce software, the relatively strong market forces combined with ready consumer uptake, positive demographic indicators, and established digital infrastructure will make these solutions a true winner in the online retail space.
