Amazon Australia recently released its financial accounts, providing an interesting perspective about the battle online. We calculate that Amazon grew gross transaction value by 48% to $2.6 billion in 2021. Catch Group and Kogan had broadly flat sales. Amazon’s EBITDA margin was 1.9%, which is better than Catch and Kogan. There is an increasing intensity of competition between Amazon, Wesfarmers and Woolworths to capture customers in their “digital ecosystem”. It is not clear who will be the winner. What is clear is that it will take time and money to be successful. The costs will likely outweigh the revenue gains over the next 1-3 years.

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Chart: Sales for online retailers for 12 months to December 2021

Sales for all only represent Australian online sales. We exclude Woolworths NZ as we focus on purchases by Australian residents. Source: Company reports, MST Marquee