AUSTRALIAN consumers are avoiding car park rage this year, abandoning their trolleys and shunning overcrowded shopping centres in which aisles resemble mosh pits.

Instead, shoppers are embracing online stores, with more than a third of all households tipped to seek out this year's Christmas presents on the internet.

Some of these shoppers will be scouring the web for savings in financially tight times, but even more will be using the internet to research their purchases before buying products in bricks-and-mortar stores.

And retailers are encouraging this renewed internet interest, with more shops than ever branching out on the worldwide web, and online retailers expanding their stock and targeting niche audiences.

Christmas boost

A national survey of 1000 Australians by Woolcott Research for AAPT found one in three Australian households will shop online for Christmas gifts this year – a jump on the 21 per cent of Australians who regularly shop online.

The survey also includes a wake-up call for those who have yet to start their present shopping: more than 13 per cent of households have already embarked on their online quest for gifts.

AAPT corporate communications head Tahn Shannon says Australians aged between 25 and 44 are most likely to buy presents online, irrespective of whether they live in an urban or rural area.

Families with children under the age of 13 are also big online shoppers, she says, and busy people are more likely to hit the web rather than real-world shops.

"There are two distinctive markets that embrace internet shopping: busy families with both parents working either full-time or part-time and technology-literate younger people," Shannon says.

"Fast broadband access, high-quality products on shopping sites and secure payment gateways have made the internet an excellent choice for people who are time-poor."

But time-poor professionals are not the only shoppers heading online.

Discounted goods

Many consumers are seeking out savings from stores that do not have the same overheads as retail chains and can offer discounted goods.

Those shops include Deals Direct, a popular Australian "eTailer" that offers products at lower than average retail prices. Deals Direct co-founder Paul Greenberg says the company's lack of "huge overheads" allows the company to price goods "much more competitively" than their traditional retail rivals.

It is an approach that consumers seem to appreciate, with DealsDirect.com.au shipping more than 10,000 parcels a day this year, up from 7000 parcels a day last year.

eBay Australia also estimates that its users pay 25 per cent less on average for new goods at the online auction site.

But not all Australian internet users are browsing online stores to make purchases.

Many are researching products and their prices.

Research tool

According to a survey of more than 5000 internet users by News Digital Media, almost three-quarters are using the internet to research future purchases and call it one of the most important uses of the web.

"The internet has democratised shopping," News Digital Media chief executive Richard Freudenstein says.

"Before they walk into a store, consumers are better informed and more decisive. They know what brands they like, what products and services they want, how much they should spend and how to bargain."

Traditional retailers are taking note of this trend, putting more of their wares online.

Wish lists

Shopping centre chain Westfield, for example, recently launched a gift guide section on its website that lets potential customers browse in-store items.

Visitors can window shop by category or by store, adding potential purchases to a wish list and seeing where each item is available and at what price.

Even Michel's Patisserie recently opened for online orders, though buyers will have to pick up their cakes in store.

Faced with this competition, some online stores are designing wares for niche markets.

Red Bubble co-founder Martin Hosking says the Australian online art website appeals to consumers looking for something "handcrafted" and "creative".

The website is similar to an online gallery and encourages visitors to buy artwork in the form of a T-shirt, wall hanging, calendar or greeting card, and to upload their own artwork.

Other unique online offerings include Catch of the Day, an offshoot of the Daily Deals website that sells one heavily discounted item each day from noon, and Offer Me that lets you request items you're looking for and have companies tender for your patronage.