E-commerce in Australia continues to grow at pace with estimates from National Australia Bank (NAB) indicating that online retail trade grew 5.6% month on month in March, and 21.8% year on year, which outpaced the annual total retail trade growth of 4.6%.

Australians spent AUD31.9 billion online in the 12 months to March 2020, equating to 9.7% of total retail trade. Although the e-commerce boom in Australia is still in its infancy, COVID-19 has accelerated the growth in online retailing, with many consumers changing the way they shop. This growth has translated into continued tenant demand in the industrial and logistics sector. 

Investment Appetite
Industrial property in Australia has experienced strong capital value growth and yield compression with continued demand from both domestic private and institutional groups and foreign investors.

The last 12 months saw over AUD6.5 billion of industrial sales (above AUD5 million) across 273 transactions, many of which consisted of portfolio sales as institutional investors acquired prime industrial facilities to be buried into core portfolios. Institutional Funds & Trusts were the most active purchasers over the 12 months to March 2020, accounting for over 50% of transaction volumes.