Retail e-businesses will face numerous challenges in 2017 from wooing cautious consumers and creating rich personalised customer experiences to offering free and fast delivery, in the battle for customer loyalty, according to a new survey of the global retail ecommerce market.

The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well and thriving amongst Australian workers who apparently see their potential as budding business entrepreneurs as a way to escape from their day-to-day jobs.

A new report shows that while three in four Australians are making online purchases, only a quarter are purchasing from overseas businesses. This is down from one third last year.

Strong business confidence and increasing digital disruption augurs well for Australian small businesses this year, according to a senior executive of Australia’s largest telco.