Small online retailers represent 37% of total online retail sales over the past 12 months, according to a report by Quantium.
Though growth rates vary month-to-month, small online retail spending is trending much higher than past periods, tracking an estimated 22.2% higher than a year ago.
These retailers are primarily based in Personal & Recreational, Homewares & Appliances, and Fashion, with these three categories accounting for a whopping 85% of online sales for small retailers.
Accordingly, most growth over the past year was attributed to these categories, in particular Homewares & Appliances which represent 29.2% of spend but 37.9% of growth.
| Categories (%) | Share of SME spending | Contribution to annual SME spending growth |
| Personal & Recreational | 30.3 | 22.7 |
| Homewares & Appliances | 29.2 | 37.9 |
| Fashion | 25.2 | 25.0 |
| Groceries | 4.1 | 3.8 |
| Toys | 3.8 | 1.2 |
| Media | 3.6 | -0.1 |
| Department stores | 2.8 | 7.3 |
| Food | 0.9 | 2.3 |
| Daily Deals | 0.0 | -0.1 |
The continued trend of gradual growth of small online retailers is a promising sign for small Australian brands emerging in the online space.