Aussie businesses record biggest jump in online revenue

Australian businesses generated a record amount of income using the internet in 2016-17, according to recently released figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The figures show that Australian business generated $394.3 billion in internet income in 2016-17, a whopping $72.9 billion increase on the year ended 30 June 2016. The increase is the largest seen in recent years, more than doubling the $35.9 billion increase seen from 2014-15 to 2015-16.

While the ABS report does not specify reasons for the increase, it does show that small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) drove much of the growth. Approximately 827,000 SMEs made up of 199 persons or fewer, generated a combined $188.2 billion in internet income in 2016-17, $42.9 billion more than in 2015-16.