COVID boosts demand for online shopping: ABS

More than one in 10 Australians believe COVID will leave a permanent mark on daily life, latest ABS survey reveals.

Only eight in 10 Australians maintained physical distance from others in early November, versus over 95 per cent six months earlier. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

A third of Australians say they prefer to shop online more now than they did before the pandemic, while the proportion of households who said life would never return to normal increased to nearly 11 per cent in November, from just over 9 per cent in July, as more households accept that the health crisis will leave a permanent mark on daily life.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ latest survey on the impact of COVID-19 on households also showed a waning interest in social distancing, at least outside Victoria, which, in early November, had just started reopening.

Although almost all (96 per cent) Australians took one or more precautions in response to the virus, the most popular single measure was increased hand washing, at 93 per cent of respondents.

Most notably, 80 per cent of Australians were keeping physical distance from people in early November, versus a peak of 95 per cent in late May. In Victoria, 90 per cent of people reported keeping a physical distance from others in early November, against 83 per cent in New South Wales and 72 per cent in the rest of Australia.

In Victoria, 99 per cent of the state’s inhabitants reported wearing a mask, in line with compulsory rules at the time, versus 61 per cent in NSW and only 15 per cent in the rest of Australia.

Despite households feeling more comfortable not maintaining their social distancing from others due to COVID, shopping at the mall remained a step too far for 40 per cent of Australians, who said they felt “uncomfortable” shopping in such a setting.

In contrast, 87 per cent of respondents said they were comfortable shopping at their local or corner stall, in what has been a boon for small suburban retailers.

Nationally, a third of respondents said they preferred to shop more online now than pre-pandemic, and this figure climbed to 43 per cent of Victorians and 35 per cent of NSW residents.

Three in 10 said they would like to continue to work more from home, the survey showed.

The pandemic has accelerated the move to remote shopping. NAB has estimated that over the 12 months to October, Australian shoppers spent $42.2bn online, or 41 per cent more than over the same period a year before. Online shopping now accounts for around 12 per cent of total retail trade.

The ABS survey also revealed a sharp improvement in emotional and mental wellbeing between August and November. The ABS asked about a variety of feelings associated with anxiety and depression, with 30 per cent of respondents saying that felt nervous at least some of the time, versus 46 per cent in August, while 12 per cent reported feeling so sad that nothing could cheer them up at least some of the time, against 17 per cent in August.

Despite this encouraging picture of a waning emotional toll from the health crisis, around one in five Australians said they experienced high or very high levels of psychological distress in November.