New NZ Post report shows Kiwi businesses reaping the benefits from online shopping

A new report on eCommerce in New Zealand shows that online shopping grew eight times faster than shopping in-store in 2018 (16% v 2%) and showed encouraging trends for New Zealand online retailers.

The Full Download 2019 report was undertaken by NZ Post because courier delivery has now surpassed mail as the largest contributor to NZ Post revenue.

The report shows 1.8 million New Zealanders chose to shop online last year spending a total of $4.2billion. The large growth in online shopping has mainly come from Kiwis shopping more often, with online shoppers now hitting that ‘buy’ button 22 times each per year. We’re also seeing an emergence of ‘super shoppers’ – with nearly one in ten Kiwi online shoppers spending over $9,000 online.

“The report shows good news for Kiwi businesses. Spending with New Zealand online stores grew at nearly double the rate of growth for international online stores – encouraging news for our local e-tailers,” says NZ Post Chief Marketing Officer, Bryan Dobson.

“Although New Zealanders still enjoy shopping internationally with nearly one dollar in every three being spent with an offshore online retailer, New Zealanders also say that they prefer to buy from local retailers because they trust them and would like to support home-grown businesses.”

Another trend that has emerged is the rise in popularity of Buy Now Pay Later Payment methods, such as Afterpay, with 12% of shoppers using these payment methods in 2018. Most Buy Now Pay Later users are aged under 45, and over half of users are women under 45. The most prominent online shoppers in New Zealand are women aged between 30 and 45 who live in rural areas.

“NZ Post is delivering well over half of all parcels bought online in New Zealand and we’re proud to be integral to that moment of joy when your online shopping parcel arrives.

“Customer needs are changing quickly: they want speed, efficiency and convenience. They want to know where their parcel is at all times during its journey and want delivery at a time and place that works for them – NZ Post is able to offer this.

“Most online retailers in New Zealand use NZ Post to connect with their customers. With the leading delivery service we provide, and with the wealth of insights in this report, we are committed to helping online retailers to grow a better online business” says Dobson.