A new study has revealed that two-thirds of Australians would buy something online if it came with the promise of next-day delivery, however, very few Aussie businesses offer the service.

The latest Paypal mCommerce Index report showed 63 per cent of Aussies surveyed said next-day delivery would entice them to an online checkout, but the figure dropped to 28 per cent for stores that offer a 4-7 day delivery.

The survey found that 54 per cent of Australian businesses also had no plans to offer a 24-hour turnaround.

And with the pending arrival of Amazon to our shores and its promise of “ships that day” then it all amounts be more bad news for Aussie retailers.

PayPal’s report, based on the view of 1,000 smartphone users and 219 businesses, found more than half of mobile shoppers are reluctant to buy from a store again if shipping takes too long. Seventy per cent of respondents said they’d abandoned a purchase because of the high shipping costs and 42 per cent had opted out of sale because the delivery time was too long.

Even better news for retailers with fast delivery, a majority also said they’d return to an online retailer that could offer a 24-hour turnaround.

Commenting on the survey, PayPal Australia managing director Libby Roy said: “Australian retailers are operating in a global market where free and fast shipping is now a consumer expectation.

“But only a third of Australian business offer next-day delivery and more than 50 per cent of merchants aren’t thinking about next-day delivery.

“Put that in the context of the increasing competitive environment, particularly with Amazon and Alibaba entering the Australian market, it really is something merchants should be thinking about.

“The online shopping experience doesn’t end at the checkout – product delivery is a core part of the end-to-end experience,” Roy said while admitting that due to Australia’s geographic size it did add to the problems over say Europe or the US.