Credit cards net new business online
Source: Sydney Morning Herald, 28 Jan 2005.
Credit card companies are reporting an e-commerce boom, with more and more consumers paying for goods and services over the internet.
Visa reported its cardholders' online purchases had leapt 65 per cent to $6 billion in Australia in 2004, with an average online purchase of $139.00. Online sales now make up 5.5 per cent of overall Visa transactions in Australia.
Organic Food Express, who moved online six years ago, reported that the bulk of their orders were made over the internet, its sales having grown by 25 per cent a year over the past several years.
"It is all done by credit card," she said Organic partner Leslie Ginns. She and her business partner Greg Crompton source the food and pack it themselves, with home delivery to around 150 regular customers being outsourced to a courier company. Organic customers are mostly busy professionals who find the website through search engines or word of mouth. Ms Ginns stated that customer confidence was the reason for their success - "they know we have quality produce and a secure online system".
Visa Australia also said said that traditional online fare such as ticketing, CDs, books and travel has continued to grow steadily. Many other areas have also seen an increase in demand as consumers move towards online payment to cut costs. "It has become the desired channel for purchasing some products, and airlines are a great example," said Bruce Mansfield, Visa's general manager for Australia.
Qantas saw 30 per cent of its domestic bookings performed online - a key factor in this being that charges applied to bookings made in person or by telephone are waived for Internet purchases. PC manufacturer Dell also operate similar schemes.
EnergyAustralia also reported that online payments using Bpay now made up around 20 per cent of bill payments, having seen "quite significant growth" since the option was introduced 18 months ago.
