Australians spent a record $16.2 billion online in the year to October 2014, up 11.9 per cent on the previous year.
The figures have been revealed in the National Australia Bank’s (NAB) latest Online Retail Sales Index.
The majority of increased retail spending has been drawn from domestic retail sales over international shopping.
Domestic online sales expanded by 14.4 per cent as the Australian dollar weakened, while international sales only grew by 4.7 per cent.
This represented the fastest growing age segment for the month.
The share of domestic spending continues to edge higher, now controlling 75.2 per cent of total online spending.
On a per capita basis, Canberrians are the most dedicated online shoppers in the country, followed by shoppers in the Northern Territory, Western Australia and NSW.
Electronic games and toys had the fastest annual online sales growth in October at 43.9 per cent — 6.7 per cent higher than the previous month.
However, the category is considerably more volatile due to the timing of electronic game releases.
The second highest annual growth rate was in homewares and appliances, where sales expanded by 22.1 per cent annually and 4.7 per cent monthly.
The largest category and contributor to annual growth, department and variety stores, contracted slightly in the month (-0.2 per cent) but was still higher for the year (8.7 per cent).
Department and variety stores continue to dominate the online retail sector, capturing 34 per cent of total online spending.
Fashion is the fifth largest category, capturing 11 per cent of spending.
While online retail remains dominated by those aged 35 and 44, older Australians are also experiencing solid growth.
Over 65s saw positive growth in online shopping for 14 consecutive months, with spending rising a further 1.7 per cent in October.
