According to recent research released by Roy Morgan in the 12 months to September 2015, 89.2% of Australians aged 14 and over said they’d be more likely to buy products made in Australia — an improvement on 2013, when it was 85.6%. But while Australia remains the population’s hands-down number one preference, several other countries of origin found increased favour over the same time period.
“In encouraging news for the country’s manufacturing sector, the love affair between Australians and Aussie-made products shows no sign of fading. In fact, it’s the healthiest it’s been for two years, with nine in every 10 Australians saying they’re more likely to buy products made in Australia.” Michele Levine, CEO, Roy Morgan Research commented.
Levine explained that growing numbers of consumers say they’d be more likely to buy goods made in Canada (51.5%, up from 42.6% in 2013), Sweden (44.1%, up from 36.3%), France (40.9%, up from 32.5%) and Spain (27.8%, up from 21.3%). While these countries saw the biggest improvement in public approval, traditionally less well regarded nations such as India (15.8%, up from 12.8%), South Africa (21.1%, up from 16.5%) and Chile (13.5%, up from 9.6%) are also being seen in a more positive light by Australian shoppers. Adding that the United States (58.7%, up from 53.9%), the United Kingdom (57.6%, up from 51.8%) and New Zealand (56.9%, up from 50.3%) have all bounced back from temporary dips in popularity during 2013. “Curiously, despite signing a Free Trade Agreement with Australia in 2014, Japan has slipped from fifth to sixth-most popular country of origin for products we’re more likely to buy. The popularity of Chinese-made products has also slipped over the last 12 months, resulting in China dipping from tenth to eleventh place. This makes Japan the only Asian country of manufacture in the top 10, so it will be interesting to see whether this slump is temporary or indicative of a wider shift in Australians’ shopping attitudes” Levine commented.

% of Australians more likely to buy products depending on country of origin

Levine went on to clarify that Australians’ renewed preference for ‘home-grown’ shopping is even more striking when we look at specific product categories. Compared with the same time in 2013, increased proportions of the population say they’d be more likely to buy clothes, food, electrical goods, sporting goods and wine if they were labelled ‘Made in Australia’.
“Alongside our renewed enthusiasm for Australian-made goods, we are becoming increasingly open to, and comfortable with, the idea of buying foreign-made products. Online shopping has broadened our retail horizons, enabling us to purchase items made in all corners of the globe. (It’s worth remembering, however, that the majority of online shoppers in most product categories still buy from local sites.) International retailers with a bricks-and-mortar presence in Australia have also boosted our perception of foreign-made products.” Levine commented.

% of people more likely to buy products made in Australia: 2013 vs 2015