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Paypal: online commerce to reach $30b by the new year

Online payment system PayPal has forecasted local online commerce will reach $30bn by the end of the year, according to its Secure Insights report.

The forecast comes as eBay predicts this week to be the busiest ever in online shopping and Australia Post will shift an extra 3m parcels this December.

Elena Wise, acting MD of PayPal Australia said: “Over the last year, online commerce in Australia has grown at a rate of 11% and a huge number of Australian and international retailers have opened their virtual store doors to Australians. This year, consumers will be shopping across a mix of retail channels, from their PCs, to their mobiles to in-store. Wherever they are shopping, consumers are looking for flexibility, convenience and security.”

In preparation for Christmas, the week will be eBay’s busiest with the spending spree culminating in 1.6m Australians visiting eBay.com.au on Sunday 11 December.

The online auction site recently launched an attack campaign in response to David Jones’ price matching promises.

Deborah Sharkey, vice president at eBay said: “When it comes to hunting down the best products at the best prices, Australian consumers have stepped up a gear in the last 12 months and are now an army of savvy online deal hunters. With more than 10 million Australians now shopping online, smart shoppers can get the best deals on gifts and save time and energy to spend on the most important ingredients of the festive period – friends and family.”

Australia Post is making an effort to be ready for the increase. Ahmed Fahour, MD and CEO said: “We’re opening more than 700 of our retail outlets for extended hours on weekdays and have 2,400 retail outlets now open on Saturdays to make collecting your parcels even easier. Since July, we’ve seen parcels growing at almost 13 per cent compared to the same time last year – a figure which can be directly linked to Australians taking up online shopping in record numbers.”

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