With its enviable hot climate, stunning landscapes and English-speaking citizens with an apparent fondness for beers and barbecues, it’s no surprise that Australia is amongst the most popular destinations for British tourists. However, more and more people are now choosing to establish more permanent roots in Australia, expanding their businesses into one of the world’s most attractive markets. With a resilient economy that has performed well consistently, there’s never been a better time to do so.
A Quarter-Century of Economic Growth
Australia has enjoyed years of consecutive economic growth, the best performance of any developed country in the world, and a trend that is forecast to continue. Australia now ranks as the 12th largest economy in the world, with its GDP per capita at current exchange rates making its citizens among the world’s top 5 wealthiest.
The nation’s economic fortunes are closely linked to Asia and the huge demand for natural resources from emerging markets such as China and India. This exposure to, and engagement with, the fast-growing Asian region can help British companies looking to expand into this region enormously. 7 out of Australia’s top 10 trading partners are Asian countries, and more than 2 million Australians (approximately 10% of the population) speak an Asian language at home. Many multinational companies view Australia as presenting the best business case for regional headquarters to target this dynamic Asia Pacific region.
Close Ties to the UK
The extremely strong ties between Australia and the UK are also a huge advantage for British businesses down-under. British businesses often find themselves quite at home on the other side of the world, thanks to our common language and similar culture, familiar products and service providers, similar business and legal practices, and similar technical standards. However, don’t be fooled – you still need to localise your content. Just because you speak the same language doesn’t make you immune to potential cultural issues such as tone of voice, customer service expectations and consumer behaviours.
Over 1,000 British businesses currently operate in Australia, including well-known companies like HSBC, Virgin, British Airways and BT.
A Growing Population of Internet Shoppers and the eCommerce Boom
Another factor working in Australia’s favour is its strong population growth. Currently the estimated population stands at just 23,800,000, but this figure is set to double in the next 60 years, driven by natural increase and net overseas migration. Of these 23.8 million citizens, approximately 90% have access to the Internet, and it is estimated that 79.4% of these internet users will make a purchase online this year.
eCommerce contributed over AUD 16.9 million to the Australian economy in 2015.
eCommerce growth is set to continue with further developments in mobile technology, social media and the rollout of the National Broadband Network, the biggest infrastructure project in Australia’s history, which will aim to deliver a faster broadband network to 95% of the Australian population. As the network expands, many more online opportunities , specifically in the fields of e-health, e-learning, digital entertainment and e-commerce for mobile – so now is the time to localise your website!
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