There's no doubt that online shopping is becoming more important in Australia. The most recent Australian Bureau of Statistics population survey revealed that 61% of Australians shopped online and four out of five of them had used eBay. What are the barriers to these shoppers buying more online and new ones coming online?

Research of over 1,000 Australian consumers by consulting firm Leading Edge has identified the following barriers to Australians shopping online:

• Poor broadband speeds make viewing products difficult
• Lack of assurance about returns policies
• Perceived time, hassle and shipping costs in returning faulty goods

The study suggested the following courses of action for Australian retailers:

• Sellers of furniture, whiteware and electronics could really benefit by extending their phyiscal stores online. Not just by putting a product catalog on the Internet however - actually selling their products
• Make sure your website helps customers find what they are looking for. Provide useful and valuable content on your website, not just a product catalogue
• Make a point about your returns policies. Online shopping in the US is more advanced as 'no questions asked' returns policies for online purchases are becoming standard in many industries.
• Integrating online and offline policies could help as this has driven more business in overseas markets for example, ordering online and picking up in-store, or ordering online and returning in-store.
• Use communication tools like blogs to keep your customers informed
• Use cross selling techniques to drive more business from the customers who do purchase online from you.