Australia’s end-of-year sales season has delivered a near-universal digital shopping moment, with 21.79 million Australians – 98.5% of the online population aged 14+ – visiting retail and commerce websites and apps in December, according to new Ipsos iris data.
It is a trend this writer’s December bank statements can enthusiastically confirm.
The result caps off an extended sales cycle that began in October and intensified through Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas, with sustained promotional activity driving both reach and time spent across retail platforms.
Australians spent 7.9 hours online consuming retail and commerce content in December – more than 15 minutes a day, highlighting how deeply embedded digital retail has become in everyday behaviour.
Sales season stretches the calendar
The Ipsos iris report shows elevated retail engagement across the entire October–December period, reflecting how brands now run almost back-to-back promotional cycles to capture consumer attention.
Within the category, several sub-sectors saw sharp growth month-on-month:
• Beverages surged from 7.6 million in November to 9.1 million in December – a jump of almost 20%.
• Beauty climbed from 8.1 million to 8.4 million, up just over 4%.
• Books and literature rose 6.4%, driven by summer reading and gifting trends.
• Women drove overall growth, accounting for 52.4% of the retail and commerce audience, compared to men at 47.6%.
Temu and Amazon lead the digital shopping race
Temu ranked as the top retail and commerce brand in December, reaching 18.8 million Australians, followed by Amazon with 16.7 million and Woolworths with 14.2 million.
They were followed by eBay Australia, Apple, Google, Everyday Rewards, Kmart, Coles Group and Big W – highlighting the blend of global platforms, supermarkets and loyalty programs now competing in the same digital retail ecosystem.
News and commerce surge together
December also delivered a spike in online news consumption, with 21.3 million Australians (96.5% of the online population) using a news website or app during the month.
Australians spent an average of 3.3 hours per month consuming online news, driven by major local and international events.
Online news was dominated by the Bondi Beach terror attack, which generated sustained coverage across platforms as the narrative shifted from breaking news to the political, social and personal fallout.
Other local stories driving traffic included the trial of Tom Silvagni, AFL player Lachie Neale’s marriage breakdown, the Ashes, and the AFL trade period.
A nation living online
A total of 22.127 million Australians aged 14+ used the internet in December, spending an average of 4.68 hours per day online, up 1.7% year-on-year.
The most consumed digital categories were Search Engines, Social Networking, Online Media, Technology and Retail and Commerce – all reaching more than 21 million Australians.
Ipsos iris is endorsed by IAB Australia as the country’s digital audience measurement currency, underpinning the $17.2 billion Australian online advertising market.