Australians would most likely patronage or buy items sold locally, such as gadgets, if only they were priced cheaper than counterparts sold overseas, a study by MasterCard released on Friday showed.

In the study, MasterCard discovered that Australians shop locally for two main reasons - faster delivery and trust. Of the 1,250 Australians surveyed, 59 per cent said faster delivery was a key driver to 'Buy Australian,' while 46 per cent said it was important to deal with retailers they know and trust.

However, a whopping 85 per cent admitted they prefer to buy items overseas because they are relatively priced cheaper than their Australian counterparts, with two-thirds of respondents saying overseas online retailers offer a better range of products.

"People shop online for so many reasons - the convenience of shopping from your desk, the efficiency of getting it done without the crowds, the seemingly endless range," Andrew Cartwright, MasterCard Australia country manager, said.

"But increasingly, the public is doing their Christmas shopping online because they are seeing very serious cost savings to be had. This study shows that consumers want to shop locally, if they can get the same value they get from overseas retailers."

IT and digital goods, when already sold in Australia, are most often found to be priced higher than in the US and other countries. An instance would be the Apple iTunes store. The digital albums being sold in the US sells between $9.99 and $12.99, but in Australia, these go for $16.99 and higher.

"Aussies love a bargain, and should have the freedom to shop around and secure the best deal possible. The price obstacle is a difficult one to overcome for local retailers, but competition is the key delivering customer satisfaction to Australians," Mr Cartwright said.

The study likewise found out that 60 per cent of Australians shopping for wines & spirits prefer Australian retailers, but will shop from overseas retailers for books and DVD category. It likewise discovered that 79 per cent of Australians will shop online this Christmas for toys, games or sports equipment.