By Keri Algar
SYDNEY, NSW: Gone are the days of prawns on the barbie, according to industry analysts IbisWorld, who have listed using the internet and playing video games as Australian’s favourite pastimes. Yes, really.
“Perhaps unsurprisingly, internet use – including social networking, web browsing, watching TV and movies online and online shopping – will continue to soak up more of our time as we head towards 2020,” said the IbisWorld report.
The good news for consumer electronics retailers is that video gaming is set to more than double its current industry revenue of $3.6 billion over the next ten years.
“The last decade has seen the market for video games shift from a young, male dominated audience towards an older and increasingly female demographic – with the average age of the Australian gamer now estimated at 30, and 45 per cent of all gamers being female.”
And of course by delving into the online world more each year, IbisWorld predicts the retail landscape will undergo a “significant cybershift by 2020”.
“In 2010-11, IbisWorld expects online retail sales to grow by 5 per cent to $12.9 billion to account for about 3.4 per cent of Australia’s overall retail spending. By 2020, IbisWorld believes this could be in the range of 6 to10 per cent, with growth spurred by increasing computer literacy, greater focus by e-tailers on the layout, efficiency, security and reliability of their websites, and continued shift towards online shopping by time-poor, cashed-up consumers.”
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