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Colin Huang’s reign as China’s richest person only lasted about two weeks.

A slump in shares of PDD Holdings, the parent company of e-commerce giant Temu, sent Huang’s fortune tumbling by $US14.1 billion ($20.8 billion), his biggest one-day loss ever. Huang, 44, is now the fourth-wealthiest person in China with a net worth of $US35.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

It’s a dramatic drop for the founder of PDD, who on August 8 became the first tech tycoon to top China’s wealth rankings in more than three years, displacing bottled-water billionaire Zhong Shanshan. Zhong retook the No. 1 spot on Monday with a fortune of $US50 billion.

PDD reported quarterly revenue that missed analyst estimates and warned that sales growth will slow. Chief executive officer Chen Lei repeatedly told analysts in a call after the earnings release that the firm’s current trajectory wasn’t sustainable, at a time when competitors such as ByteDance’s TikTok and Alibaba Group are vying for budget-conscious shoppers. The company’s US-listed shares fell 29 per cent, the most ever.

Management also dampened expectations for potential dividend payouts and share buybacks in the next few years.

“We are facing intense competition on different fronts and also uncertainties from external factors,” Chen said.

“Therefore, our management team and I unanimously believe that it is not an appropriate time for share repurchases or dividends. And in the foreseeable years ahead, we also do not see such a need.”

Huang founded PDD in 2015 after launching a few gaming and e-commerce ventures. The former Google engineer quickly ascended the ranks of the world’s richest people, with his net worth peaking at $US71.5 billion in early 2021. He stepped down as PDD’s chief executive in 2020 and left the board as chairman in 2021, as Beijing began cracking down on China’s tech giants.

The e-commerce platform is known for selling dirt-cheap products with massive promotions, which attracted budget-conscious consumers as global inflation surged. It expanded outside of China under the Temu brand name and quickly became one of the most downloaded US apps after a splashy debut in 2022. It has since begun to challenge fellow Chinese online shopping giant Shein and even Amazon.com in certain segments.

But the company has faced frustration from suppliers, employees and governments. Hundreds of small merchants staged a rally at PDD offices in southern China this summer to protest what they called unfair penalties levied by the company.

Meanwhile, the European Union is working on a proposal to close an import tax loophole for cheap goods bought online, while US lobbyists are pushing for a $US10 threshold for duty-free shipments, down from $US800 currently.

New data from Roy Morgan capturing the annual shopper base of ultra cheap online disruptors Shein and Temu has revealed the staggering numbers of shoppers across both platforms. 

Around 3.8 million Australians aged 14 and up are buying at least once from Temu over 12 months, while 2 million are buying at least once from Shein.

Both of these customer bases are up by more than 30 per cent respectively over the last six months. Temu shoppers have surged by 400,000 from the October to December 2023 quarter to 1.66 million in the April to June 2024 quarter, up 32 per cent - or 3.8 million people in a 12-month period.

Meanwhile, Shein’s shopper base has grown 34 per cent, leaping from 830,000 monthly shoppers to 1.11 million over the same time period - or 2 million people in a 12-month period.

This has upped Roy Morgan’s estimates of market share for both Temu and Shein, with the research firm claiming that together they are closing in on $3 billion in annual sales in the 12 months to June 2024. That is $1.7 billion for Temu and $1.1 billion for Shein.

For reference, annual fashion sales in Australia was estimated to have hit $23.2 billion in 2023 according to research firm IBISWorld.

“Much is said about the long-term viability of these ultra-cheap retailers,” Roy Morgan reported. “However, if the growth in customer numbers continues in line with the recent two quarters, it is expected that Temu will hit, and possibly surpass, $2 billion in annual sales, and Shein will hit and possibly surpass $1.3 billion in all sales.”

Regarding shoppers, most of the Shein and Temu shoppers are return customers. Among those customers who have shopped on Shein and Temu in the last 12-month period, the majority are repeat customers - 76 per cent of Shein shoppers and 80 per cent of Temu shoppers - or those buying at least twice in the 12-month period from each platform.

Over 40 per cent of Shein and Temu shoppers are buying four or more times in a 12-month period - 42 per cent for Shein and 48 per cent for Temu. 

The Shein shopper is still majority female (78 per cent) according to Roy Morgan, in line with the platform’s biggest category: women’s clothing. 

Temu has a much greater proportion of male shoppers, buying from the varied range of categories available including clothing, accessories and electrical goods.

Looking at age, almost half of Shein shoppers are aged under 35, while the Temu shopper is older – more than 70 per cent are aged 35 and up.

“It’s been extraordinary to witness the continued rise of these ultra cheap platforms, especially over the last 9 months where they have enjoyed the kind of growth that Australian retailers can only dream of in this climate,” Roy Morgan head of retail research and social and consumer trends Laura Demasi said. 

“Few could have predicted this scenario just one year ago. I can’t think of another retailer that has seen a hike of 30 per cent in customers in such a short time, especially now – other than Amazon, who is already mounting a fight back against these platforms at the global level.

“These numbers confirm that the ‘trading down’ phenomenon is real. Every month more and more Australians – both young and old – are trading down to these platforms to stretch their dollars further, redirecting billions of dollars away from Australian retailers.”

It’s taken six years, but Australia is about to experience an Amazon revolution in retailing and television.

A spectacular rise in the customer base of the online Amazon retail operation is a clear warning to non-food retailers around the country – adapt or suffer. And as I explained on Monday, free to air television is also threatened. Eventually, Amazon will extend its power to the food sector.

When Amazon launched in Australia in 2017 retailers were geared for a big challenge. But instead it was a fizzer and retailers did not take it seriously.

Morgan Research reveals that in 2023-24 Amazon’s Australian customer base soared a stunning 16 per cent, or 1.1 million to 7.9 million Australians. It is now bigger than the combination of Myer and David Jones, larger than Target and very close to JB Hi-Fi.

There is still a reasonable gap between Amazon and both Big W and Kmart, but if Amazon keeps rising at the current pace, that gap will soon be bridged. And while most of the customer bases of Amazon’s rivals are skewed towards women, Amazon is divided equally between males and females.

To date, Australia’s big retailers have not responded radically to the duplication in Australia of Amazon’s overseas strategies. But the Amazon customer jump is an alert that they face similar challenges to newspapers and television.

We saw newspapers forced to dramatically change the nature of their operation in the last decade. Now free-to air television is under threat from a string of streaming services led by Amazon Prime. Retailers are next, and for some it will be an unpleasant experience.

Just over half the Amazon customer base is enrolled in Amazon Prime television streaming service. Amazon Prime viewers who take advertisements will get delivery discounts for goods supplied by Amazon to their home, plus and other benefits. It’s an incredibly powerful marketing tool not available to Amazon’s retail rivals

The Albanese government has swung in behind Amazon and legislated that anyone running a parcel delivery business where parcels are being sent to homes for consumption by individuals, then their transport operation is free of all the complexities and lower productivity transport measures contained in the 700-page industrial relations loopholes’ legislation.

Of course other online retailers can also benefit from the “Amazon clause” but the legislation will be a major blow to “bricks and mortar” retailers whose transport costs to bring goods to retail stores will rise by about 10 per cent because efficient independent family owned truckies are being legislated out and replaced by myriad of rules which effectively delivers a legal cartel between the unions and the larger transport companies.

And Australia Post, which serves many online retailers, is not organised to differentiate between deliveries to commercial enterprises and homes, so may find it difficult to benefit from the Amazon clause.

Of course, Amazon’s independent contractor system will still be subject to the unfair contracts legislation.

The Morgan research shows that on average, Amazon shoppers are purchasing six items a year on the platform. Kmart customers who shop at Kmart on average 7.5 times a year. Three in 10 Amazon shoppers make a purchase seven or more times over the year.

The Amazon business started in books, and books (including e-books and audiobooks) still represent around 31 per cent of purchases. But clothing has risen to 19 per cent and games and toys to 14 per cent.

What should alarm JB Hi-Fi is that, according to Morgan Research, the combination of computers, tablets, computer accessories, software, small electrical goods plus phones and accessories totals around 25 per cent of Amazon purchases.

Encouraged by this penetration, Amazon has announced plans to move into the so-called “big box” retail – furniture and large electrical appliances. It is constructing a purpose built warehouse in Sydney, set to start in 2026.

This will intensify the attack on JB Hi-Fi and open up a frontal assault on Harvey Norman.

What differentiates Amazon from other online retailers competing with the “bricks and mortar” sector is Amazon Prime.

There is little doubt that streaming television has been the biggest force skyrocketing the Amazon retail customer base.

And if Amazon Prime achieves a major presence in sports television, then the 7.9 million customer base will explode. In due course, Amazon will consider going to the food business and areas that compete with Bunnings. Already 5 per cent of it sales are in pet food where Bunnings is also making a big thrust.

Australia’s retailers have always watched at streaming television as a foolish diversification, but the stunning rise in the Amazon customer base, delivered in part by Amazon Prime, will must cause them to at least watch at streaming television.

Most of the streaming services are international, but Australian retailers might consider a retail link up. Paramount, which controls the Ten Network, has made it clear that their global future is in streaming television. They could be interested in a deal. And of course the Nine network owns the Stan streaming service which now facing increasing competition from overseas majors.

I emphasise that I have no knowledge of any discussions, but that 16 per cent rise in the Amazon customer base will send the sword of fear through all Australian retailers as well as the television networks.

Apple’s Vision Pro – touted as the world’s first spatial computer – is available in Australia this week and, on first impressions, is a product that has come too late.

I’m not talking about the fact that it’s been available in the US for months or that rivals Meta and Sony have produced cheaper virtual reality headsets for years.

What Apple offers is superior in many respects. It is more immersive than its competitors, and that’s a shame, because during pandemic lockdowns it would have sold like hot cakes.

In the week I’ve reviewed the Vision Pro, I’ve been able to walk with dinosaurs, pull apart a F1 race car in my room, replicate a full cinema experience in my lounge room, walk on the moon, not to mention get a lot of work done.

First impressions

To showcase the headsets capabilities, I joined a Facetime call with a couple of Apple staff and other journalists. Initially, it felt weird. It was like normal Facetime, except I was looking at a digital “persona” or avatar of other call participants. These are created via taking multiple scans of your face and head – a process which takes a few minutes. It delivers a realistic likeness, albeit with a digital sheen (my teeth have never looked better).

But when an Apple staff member tells us to hit spatial mode on the call, I am blown away. Call participants face each other like we’re sitting around a table, albeit with floating disembodied heads. I feel like I’ve stepped onto the set of 1978’s Superman, becoming one of the Kryptonions to banish General Zod.

On the same call, we are also transported to a virtual movie theatre in the AppleTV app where we sit alongside each other to watch the trailer of Ted Lasso. We can even choose to sit in the front, middle or back rows of the cinema, with the screen changing accordingly. With a touch of a button we are suddenly at Yosemite National Park in California, wind whistling through our ears, in full 360 degree immersion.

I soon forget that I’m wearing a computer on face, weighing up to 650g, which is connected to a 350g battery in my pocket. I feel like I’m actually with these other people, I can even whisper to one of my Facetime mates seated beside me without the other’s hearing.

How good would have that been during lockdowns?

Thankfully, those days are gone. But interest rates have bounced from near zero to recession-fearing levels. So where does that leave the Vision Pro, priced from $5,999, and who is Apple targeting?

Who’s it for?

First of all, the Vision Pro is not for everyone. Most people are unlikely to buy a computer for almost $6000 unless they’re a diehard Apple fan, developer or commercial user. Yes, you can go to Yosemite or sit perched on top of a Haiwaan volcano, but with its asking price, I expect most would travel to see those sights with their own eyes instead.

It is, after all, a new category of computer and has to start somewhere.

Apple is taking a big bet on the enterprise market, announcing in April that a raft of customers had developed “spatial” apps to take advantage of the platform.

For the construction sector, it is a gamechanger and cost saver.

Local company SpatialGPT has harnessed the power of artificial intelligence and the Vision Pro to allow architects to walk clients through realistic renderings and make changes to building projects before construction begins, avoiding expensive alterations. (I renovated my house recently and know how eye-watering even small tweaks can be).

While testing the Vision Pro I was able to place a full-sized F1 car in my lounge room via an app from another Australian company JigSpace. While fun to sit behind a wheel of an F1 car, it is designed to help marketing teams with the placement of sponsorship on vehicles – even testing out aerodynamics – presenting another big potential cost saver. You can even pull bits out of the car and throw them around the room.

For photographers, they can blow up an image from floor to ceiling and walk up to it to inspect fine details, creating a gallery-like experience.

Spatial computer

There has been a lot of talk about spatial audio and now spatial computing. But what does it do? With audio, it about creating surround sound, either using physical speakers that can use a product like Dolby Atmos or by simulating that virtually, which Apple’s Airpod Pro headphones and other brands can achieve.

Spatial computing is also designed to immerse users, making them feel they are interacting with software in the real world – hence the F1 car in my lounge room. The apps on the Vision Pro appear to float in your surroundings, allowing you to control them with a tap of your fingers (think Tom Cruise in Minority Report).

There are already more than 2000 spatial apps designed for Vision Pro, including Apple’s own Encounter Dinosaurs, that allows you to interact with the extinct creatures (yes, they can see you).

The Vision Pro is designed to anchor you in a physical space, not transport you completely into the metaverse. When you put on the device, it looks like you are looking through goggles (a 23 megapixel screen, 13 cameras and seven sensors complete this illusion). On the outside there is a digital recreation of your eyes, so it doesn’t feel weird speaking to a colleague beside you not wearing a headset.

You can even use an app – Crouton, developed in NZ – to cook a meal, placing the recipe on your splashback. The screen is that good that it was safe enough to use over an induction hotplate.

For my daily work, I was able to mirror my MacBook’s screen. I like to spread work over two displays. On the Vision Pro I was able to have multiple windows around me – even on the ceiling. I was also able to work free from distraction, blocking my surroundings when needed by turning a button.

Easy to use

Apple is known for making its products intuitive, and the Vision Pro is no different. It works by tracking eye and hand movement. For example, all I have to do is look at an icon on the screen, tap right forefinger and thumb and I can open it. This would be helpful to people with limited movement.

I also pinch my forefinger and thumb and make an imaginary curtain pulling gesture to scroll and zoom in and out.

For typing, there is a floating keyboard that appears on the screen. I can look at letters and tap my forefinger and thumb again or I can tap the virtual keys or simply dictate what I want to say. There are also two buttons at the top of the headset, on the left – which can take spatial 3D videos and photos, and a digital crown on the right that can reset your app screen which floats in your physical space. It can also control your level of immersion: i.e. Yosemite can be semi transparent or be 100 per cent solid, taking me far away from my desk.

If all else fails, I can use Apple’s voice activated AI bot to get me out of trouble. “Siri, close the Apple TV app.”

For those who wear glasses Apple has partnered with Zeiss to develop optical inserts that magnetically attach to the Vision Pro. These inserts are made to an optical prescription.

Showstopper

Watching movies at home finally becomes a full cinematic experience. Movies can be projected on a screen up to 100 feet wide. You can make a drive in theatre on the moon or you can use Apple TV’s cinema mode to recreate a more traditional viewing experience. It also supports multiple aspect ratios – including Super Panavision 70mm – without “letterboxing”.

Director Jon M. Chu is using Vision Pro to oversee the editing and effects for his upcoming film Wicked from his home, underscoring the device’s capabilities.

It supports a range of streaming apps in addition to its own service, including 3D formats.

You can also create your own 3D movies. This can be done in two ways. You can record spatial videos on your iPhone or can record directly on the Vision Pro. The direct Vision Pro recording offer more pop than the iPhone ones, making you feel you are actually reliving the memory.

But Apple Immersive Video is the showstopper. It has partnered with cinema camera company Blackmagic to create an experience similar to Las Vegas’s The Sphere – a $US2.3bn dome theatre that allows users to experience a 165 degree field of view.

Apple is planning to make this technology for sports, being able to seat a viewer say on the backboard of a basketball ring or beside the goalposts at a football match, changing the way we consume content. It even has a rehearsal room video of Alicia Key that makes you feel like you’re in the room with her and her band, with the screen wrapping around you. And this is where the $5999 price tag starts to represent good value if you can compare it with a 100-inch TV, which can cost $7000 or more, and doesn’t come with all the spatial computing features.

Battery life is the one let-down with the Vision Pro. It needs to run on a battery pack, which is connected to a cable to the headset and can fit in your pocket. It lasts about two hours. But the power cord that comes with it is long enough to sit plugged in at a desk or sofa, enabling limitless use.

Four years on from buying online marketplace Catch, there’s suggestions that Wesfarmers could be reassessing the future for the business that was supposed to enhance the digital and e-commerce capabilities of its operations, including Kmart.

The Perth-based conglomerate continues to put Catch in the category of businesses which will help the company’s future earnings growth.

But after years of losses, could managing director Rob Scott be making the call to cut his losses? There’s a view in the market that may be the case.

Mr Scott is known for his pragmatic and hard-nosed approach to deals that have not worked out for the company, swiftly backing out of the Bunnings UK expansion plans after it became clear that the business was not going to plan. But the challenge for Wesfarmers with Catch is that it’s already been integrated into the company’s online retail business, so how does it unscramble the egg?

Even if Catch was on the block, what party would be the buyer? The obvious answer would be its founders Gabby Leibovich and Hezi Leibovich that sold Wesfarmers the business in the first place for $230m in 2019. But other than that, many around the market scratch their heads.

Catch made a $41m loss for the six months to December.

Booktopia founder and director Tony Nash has been named executive director and will assume the sales director role for the next six months – a move announced at the same time as David Nenke’s departure as CEO after a year in the role.

Booktopia chairman Peter George will assume the role of executive chairman and will take on full operational responsibilities for the next six months while a search begins for a new CEO.

Today’s announcement also revealed that 50 positions within the company are to be made redundant, and the directors will be paid in share options rather than cash for the next six months.

The changes followed a strategic review announced in February after a decline in the first-half results.

“The sustained volatility of the economic climate, in addition to changing consumer spending behaviours, have continued to contribute to business results that have been below our expectations,” said George, referring to the restructuring.

“The board remains committed to building a profitable and sustainable business in the short and long-term and as such, we have regrettably had to make the very difficult decision to make a large reduction in headcount and will commence the necessary consultation with our staff.”

George added that the restructuring is expected to reset the company’s cost base to become more commercially viable and improve prospects moving forward.

“We recognise we will be losing many talented staff in this process and would like to express a sincere thank you to those affected, for all of the hard work and commitment they have put into the company,” said George.

Booktopia has sealed a $1 million line of credit to fund the redundancies, which are predicted to save $6.1 million in annualised cost savings from FY25.

Booktopia has withdrawn its earlier , advising further financial details will be shared when the company publishes its full-year accounts in August.

Ultra-cheap Chinese fashion retailer Shein’s local operation has raked in nearly $1 billion in sales and tripled its profits in 2023 as cost-of-living pressures drive budget-conscious young parents to the fast-fashion behemoth to fill their wardrobes.

According to documents filed to the corporate regulator, Shein’s revenue hit $978.9 million and generated a 307.7 per cent lift in profits to $10.6 million last year, making it one of the biggest clothing retailers of the country since its entry into the Australian market less than three years ago.

Roy Morgan retail and consumer trends expert Laura Demasi said the growth of the ecommerce player, which has become a global phenomenon for selling huge volumes of clothing priced at a few dollars, had taken the Australian market by surprise.

“Few in the retail scene and more broadly in business would have ever predicted that a retailer of this nature – ultra-cheap, fast fashion from China – would have established a foothold of this magnitude in Australia,” she said.

“They come in at a time when retail is under immense pressure, and then they buck the trend and go in the opposite direction and grow. That is extraordinary.”

Roy Morgan, which has been tracking the growth of Shein as well as rivals Temu and Amazon Australia, estimates that 800,000 Australians are shopping with Shein a month. In a few short years, an estimated 70 per cent to 90 per cent of online shoppers have become aware of Shein and Temu, with 20 per cent of online shoppers having tried Shein at least once.

“The brand awareness is pretty extraordinary,” said Demasi. “[Shein has] about the same awareness that The Iconic has. The only [businesses] that have higher brand awareness are David Jones, Myer, Kmart – their brand awareness is like 90 per cent, just to put that into context.”

Women’s clothing comprises the majority of Shein’s sales, with customers flocking to the online site for its breadth and range of products and free and fast delivery.

Key demographics that make up Shein’s customer base are families with children aged under 16, which represent just over a third (34.2 per cent) of shoppers despite only being 23 per cent of Australia’s population. This demographic has also pulled back more significantly on discretionary spending such as clothing, making Shein appealing as an affordable option.

“This is a cohort in the population which is most under pressure right now. They are always under time pressure, so the convenience of online shopping will always be attractive to parents of young children. Particularly right now, they’re under pressure financially,” Demasi said.

Another key demographic for Shein is those who live in larger households of five people or more, making up 23.3 per cent of Shein shoppers, according to Roy Morgan.

“Five years ago, this economic climate looked different; I don’t know if we would have seen this phenomenon. It’s definitely created a landscape where a platform like Shein with an offer that we’ve never really seen before, really ultra-cheap clothing, has thrived,” said Demasi.

However, despite Shein’s popularity, one in 10 shoppers say they wouldn’t shop there again amid concerns about low quality and ethics.

The retailer, which according to ASIC documents has five Australian employees, paid $4.56 million in tax in 2023, up from $1.13 million the prior year, with $16 million cash in the bank.

It has listed a coworking space in Melbourne as its registered office, and senior branding specialist Jie Ji is listed as the company’s sole director.

Shein did not respond to requests for comment.

Shein was founded in China in 2008 and became the world’s largest fashion retailer in 2022. The company is headquartered in Singapore. The combined net worth of its four founders – chief executive Xu Yangtian, Molly Miao, Gu Xiaoqing and Ren Xiaoqing – was estimated at nearly $US40 billion ($62 billion) in late 2022.

Key to the company’s success is the speed of its algorithms, which pick up shifting consumer tastes and preferences and adjust supply chains almost instantaneously using artificial intelligence.

Shein has attracted criticism for its poor labour conditions in factories it partners with, overproduction of poor quality garments and the use of cotton from a Chinese region accused of using forced labour.

The Chinese giant, which was initially looking at an IPO in the US, is reportedly days away from confirming it will float on the London Stock Exchange.

The rapid growth of Temu, the online megastore that sells general merchandise including kitchen appliances, electronics, tools, car accessories and novelty items, has also forced Shein to start expanding its range of products outside women’s clothing and is courting brands such as Colgate-Palmolive and toy maker Hasbro, Reuters reported.

“We expect their revenue to grow into the future purely because they’re selling more and more types of categories,” said Demasi.

Online-only retailers Amazon, Shein and Temu are disrupting Australian retail to the tune of $8 billion in combined annual sales.

This is according to new data from Roy Morgan, which showed that the trio has driven an overall online spending increase of 12 per cent in the last six months compared to six months earlier.

In the year to March 2024, there was around $60 billion spent online in non-food categories. Despite a flat retail market overall, online spending in the six months to March 2024 was almost $32 billion – up 12 per cent on the six months to September 2023, which was then up $28 billion. 

This level of increase was not seen in the offline retail spending figures for these periods.

Speaking on Amazon's surge, Roy Morgan’s retail, social and consumer trends expert Laura Demasi confirmed that the US-born business has doubled its customer base in Australia over the last three years.

“Year-on-year, Amazon sales are up 6 per cent, and in the last six months to March 2024, it also enjoyed exceptional growth of 17 per cent on the previous six months,” Demasi said.

“Currently, 3.4 million Australians shop on Amazon in an average month, helping the online giant reach $5.6 billion in sales in Australia.”

Demasi added that Amazon now commands almost a tenth of all the retail dollars spent online in Australia. The online retailer is now among the top five retailers in the country for non-food categories - not far behind Kmart, Bunnings and Big W. Its biggest categories are books and electrical. 

The cost-of-living crisis has also created the “perfect storm” for the significant rise of ultra-cheap Chinese players Shein and Temu. According to Roy Morgan data, both have two million Australian shoppers each month. 

“Temu particularly has caught everybody by surprise coming literally out of nowhere to win 1.4 million Shoppers in an average month, putting it on track to earn $1.4 billion in sales,” Demasi said. “Incredibly, Temu now has as many or more customers as some of our biggest national retailers.”

Research shows that much of Shein and Temu’s success in Australia is the result of massive media investment and social media marketing. Demasi said this has driven unparalleled levels of brand awareness.

“Temu is reported to have spent $3-$4 billion on marketing in 2023 globally,” Demasi said. “As a result, now 91 per cent of online shoppers are aware of Temu and 70 per cent of Shein, motivating huge numbers of people to trial them.”

Women's clothing is by far the biggest category for both Shein and Temu, according to Demasi, with more than half a million people buying on Temu each month and more than 700,000 on Shein. Young families make up nearly a third of Shein shoppers, with large households making up less than a quarter. Large households also make up 22 per cent of Temu shoppers, while older households are the largest cohort for Temu at 23.5 per cent.

Demasi said both pureplay retailers pose a direct threat to established retail brands, and not just discount stores, with research showing that shoppers, on average, are twice as more likely to shop on Shein and Temu compared to local retailers such as The Reject Shop, Best & Less, David Jones and Mecca. 

For Mecca in particular, the average Australian choosing to shop on Shein is 261 per cent more likely to do so.

Venture capital firm Blackbird Ventures is poised to sell a chunk of its early Canva shares to Sydney-based private equity firm Quadrant in a deal speculated to be worth more than $100 million.

The fund-to-fund transaction, which is yet to close, is separate to an ongoing $US1.5 billion ($2.26 billion) secondary share sale already under way at the design software giant, and includes shares held in some of Blackbird’s earliest funds.

Blackbird Ventures declined to comment when contacted by AFR Weekend on Friday, but it is understood the talks are in advanced stages, and will involve some of its Canva stake moving to Quadrant’s strategic equity fund.

Quadrant launched the fund last year in a departure from its usual growth and buyout-led funds, where the firm takes control of a portfolio investment.

The strategic equity fund takes minority positions, writing cheques typically between $20 million and $60 million.

Despite the large price tag, the tranches represent a relatively small portion of Blackbird’s total Canva holdings, and highlight the prized status of Canva equity.

Canva is targeting a US initial public offering, expected next year. Its ongoing share sale is expected to be finalised later this month, and is known to include buyers such as Goldman Sachs and the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan.

The secondary share sale is facilitated by existing investors and Canva staff members, breeding new millionaires among early employees of the company.

The secondary share sale values Canva at $US26 billion, which some existing investors have argued is a bargain.

It is not known if the Quadrant stake has been acquired at the same valuation.

Australia’s online fashion sales have dropped by 8.7 per cent for the full year 2023 to $9.6 billion, down from $10.5 billion in 2022.

This is according to Australia Post’s 2024 Inside Australian Online Shopping Report.

The fashion category plunge was one key driver in an overall online spending drop of 1.2 per cent for 2023 to $63.6 billion, with the home and garden sector producing the second-largest percentage drop of 7.6 per cent, but the largest amount drop of $1.3 billion to $16 billion.

These declines were offset by a 9.1 per cent boost in variety stores and a 2.4 per cent lift in food and liquor purchases.

Cost-of-living pressures driving more cautious spending in 2023 has also highlighted a clear generational gap in spending habits. Millennials (or Gen Y) spent more than any other generation, at $22.1 billion, despite a 2 per cent drop in spending for the year. 

Gen X spent $17.47 billion online, a lift of 1 per cent from last year, while Baby Boomer spending lifted 7 per cent to $12.5 billion. 

Gen Z spent the least in 2023 at $10.64 billion, a double-digit drop of 11 per cent from the year before.

Despite the overall dip, the online shopping report found that 9.5 million households received a parcel in 2023, up by 1.4 per cent year-on-year (YoY), with over 1.5 million more Australians shopping online compared to 2019.

“Australians are shopping online more often, with 1 in 7 households shopping weekly,” Australia Post executive GM of parcel, post and e-commerce Gary Starr said. “While basket sizes were smaller this year, the increasing trend in repeat shopping highlights the reliance on eCommerce in everyday life. 

“This year, online sales events accelerated in popularity, almost becoming traditions for Aussie shoppers. The Black Friday sales event alone saw an 88% jump in online purchases, compared to 2019 and retailers were quick to capitalise.”

“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.”

Across the country, West Australians embraced the online shopping trend with the strongest YoY growth in number of online purchases of the states/territories at 5.1 per cent. This was closely followed by the Northern Territory (4.6 per cent) and Queensland and Tasmania (4.3 per cent each). 

Rural Australia reported a larger increase in online shopping activity since 2019, up 18 per cent, compared to metropolitan areas which had lifted by 16 per cent.

Victoria and New South Wales both saw drops in online spending, down 1 per cent and 2.1 per cent respectively.

According to the report, these decreases seem to match a trend where online shopping is going back to normal after an unprecedented surge during the COVID-19 pandemic.