Residents of a small Queensland island were Australia's biggest online shoppers in 2023.
Macleay Island in Moreton Bay, south of Brisbane, led all other postcodes for the highest volume of online purchases per capita, according to Australia Post's Australian Online Shopping Report.
Mount Duneed in the Geelong region and Mooloolah Valley near the Sunshine Coast were the other top online shopping hotspots, the report found.
Australian households spent $63.6 billion on online goods, down 1.2 per cent from the year prior, with Victoria and NSW returning towards normal shopping habits post-pandemic.
But online spending grew 5.1 per cent in the past year in Western Australia and 4.6 per cent in Tasmania and the Northern Territory.
Online spending on fashion nationally dropped 8.7 per cent and home and garden, such as furniture, also fell by 7.6 per cent.
With budgets tightening amid rising cost of living, variety stores such as online marketplaces saw a rise of 9.1 per cent in the past year.
Across the generations younger Aussies spent less online in 2023 than the year before, while the 60 to 78 years age group splashed 7 per cent more.
Australia Post executive general manager of parcel, post and ecommerce services Gary Starr said 1.5 million more Australians shopped online compared to 2019.
"This year online sales events accelerated in popularity, almost becoming traditions for Aussie shoppers," he said.
"The success of sales events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday ultimately contributed to Australia Post achieving its biggest ecommerce peak period ever, delivering nearly 100 million parcels in November and December."
