A growing trend for social media companies to act as direct sales platforms, and Wi-Fi deployments and 4G rollout, is pushing up global online retail sales to around $1.7 trillion this year, up by 17% over 2014.

Online sales of goods and services in Australia are steadily increasing, with the end of the financial year spending showing a steep rise as businesses took advantage of the government’s tax incentives for purchases up to a value of $20,000.

A new online marketplace aims to match the spare capacity on transport company routes with people who have goods to ship.