Shopify, which powers 25% of all online commerce in Australia, has released The Shopify Australian Retail Report, in partnership with YouGov. As a result of evolving purchasing habits among Aussie consumers, there are six new consumer personas that reflect what Australians are concerned about, where they’re focusing their budgets, and how they want to interact with brands and products in the current environment.

Some key stats from the report:

• 93% of Australians say their priorities have changed over the past 3 years, with health the top priority for 63% of Australians and all personas
• 75% of Australians are cutting down on something to spend money, with 42% dining out less, 33% choosing cheaper options when buying discretionary items, and 27% opting for private label brands
• 78% of consumers are prioritising value for money when shopping
• Australians typically spurned their usual brands due to finding a better price or discount (49%), except Mindful Moneybags whose main reason to shop elsewhere was convenience

“More and more we’re seeing customers prioritise quality and value for money over a bargain. As a brand that means starting with great products and great promises which you then follow through on. In the current environment you’re fighting a lot harder to get that dollar and you can’t get away with bad products. At July we offer a lifetime warranty on everything in our range so customers can shop with confidence knowing they’re getting something that will last the long-haul.” said Zhoe Low, global general manager, July

Highlights from the report:

Financial and personal priorities

• 93% of Australians say their priorities have changed over the past 3 years, with health the top priority for 63% of Australians and all personas
• Following health, five of the six cohorts cited ‘spending time with family and friends’ as the second-biggest priority, aside from Mindful Moneybags who prioritised ‘improving my personal situation’
• 56% of Australians are spending more time at home, with 33% of Australians saying that was ‘a lot more’. Picky Purchasers (45%) were most likely to be spending ‘a lot more’ time at home, whereas 11% of Social Shoppers (11%) were home ‘a lot less’
• 40% of Australians are stressed about the cost of groceries and essentials, with Savings Seekers (54%) and Mindful Moneybags (25%) the most and least stressed, respectively
• 22% of Australians are stressed about higher mortgage or rental payments, with Value Valuers (24%) and Social Shoppers (18%) bookending the group

Shopping Habits

• 75% of Australians are cutting down on something to spend money, with 42% dining out less, 33% choosing cheaper options when buying discretionary items, and 27% opting for private label brands
• While 38% of Australians prefer shopping in store, the margin is thin as 31% prefer online and another 31% on the fence. Savings Seekers (48%) were the most likely to prefer in-store shopping, whilst 52% of Social Shoppers preferred shopping online
• When shopping online, Australians expect retailers to accept debit & credit cards (46%), special offers and discounts based on loyalty (35%), and multiple shipping options (32%)
• Only 6% of Australians expected stores to accept crypto, however Mindful Moneybags expected it twice as much as the average Australian (12%)
• When shopping in-store, Australians expected knowledgeable staff (57%), enough stock of the item they want (56%), and attentive service (49%). This was largely consistent for all personas, however the number one expectation of Picky Purchasers was in-store perks like a cafe or smoothie station

Brand connections

• Just over a third (36%) of Australians identify as brand loyal, with Picky Purchasers the only cohort where a majority (57%) identified as such
• Australians typically spurned their usual brands due to finding a better price or discount (49%), except Mindful Moneybags whose main reason to shop elsewhere was convenience
• To win their loyalty, the majority of Australians (53%) want consistently low prices and promotions, with offering high quality goods (50%) and loyalty points (48%) rounding out the top three
• 61% of Australians discover new products via Word of Mouth, however Twitter was the number once choice for Mindful Moneybags (20%), while YouTube was the top discovery channel for Local Loyals (30%) and Picky Purchasers (20%)

Also read: Why a digital loyalty program is the key to your SME’s marketing strategy