Aussie e-commerce merchants contribute billions to GDP, but exports lag behind: Shopify

Australian entrepreneurs in the Shopify system contribute a greater share to national GDP than every nation bar the US and UK, the e-commerce platform says, but are failing to capture the export opportunities of competing nations.

Shopify’s new Entrepreneurship Index, produced in partnership with Deloitte, suggests its Australian customers contributed US$12.3 billion (AU$18.47 billion) to the national economy in 2022.

That represents a larger proportional contribution than most other nations on Earth, bar the US (US$127.8 billion, AU$191.95 billion) and the UK (US$17.6 billion, AU$26.43 billion).

By the company’s measure, Australian entrepreneurs have the sixth-greatest national economic impact of surveyed countries, given the 152,000 jobs thought to be supported by those e-commerce leaders.

The economic contributions of digital retailers and wholesalers mean Australia is “punching above its weight on many fronts”, said Shaun Broughton, the company’s managing director for the APAC region and Japan.

However, Australia ranked 32nd overall in terms of export volumes attributed to those business leaders, with their international sales accounting for just US$2.8 million (AU$4.2 million).

That figure is 0.8% lower than the year prior.

By contrast, Australia’s resource and energy sector exports alone are forecast to hit $459 billion in 2022-2023.

Australia’s relatively small population compared to regional and global counterparts means growing local businesses should consider international markets, Broughton said.

“Australia has a strong brand internationally and our merchants have great products, so prioritising overseas markets will help them reach even more potential customers,” he said.

Beyond the realm of e-commerce players, Australian lawmakers say fostering local innovation and developing export opportunities beyond the resource and agriculture sectors will be crucial for the nation’s long-term welfare.

There is a “need for a vision for Australian innovation that goes beyond digging things out of the ground and shipping them overseas,” Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic said in September last year.

With Husic broadly focused on cutting-edge technologies and the prospect of the next global breakthrough occurring on Australian soil, Broughton, naturally, pointed to current e-commerce solutions as a gateway to global markets.

Expanding abroad “is no small task,” he said, “but the beauty of e-commerce is that you can begin to test a market without the heavy capital expenditure needed in the past”.