BNZ and Marketview’s latest monthly report on New Zealand’s online retail sales shows that New Zealand’s online retail spending now exceeds $3 billion per year.

According to the report, total online retail spending in April was up seven per cent compared to April 2014 levels, online purchases at domestic merchants were up three per cent on the spending levels a year earlier and online purchases from international merchants continue to show double-digit growth, with spending up 14 per cent on April last year.

The online sales split between domestic and international merchants was approximately 58 per cent versus 42 per cent for the month of April; and 59 per cent versus 41 per cent for the 12 months ended April.  Over the past year international merchants have gained a two and a half per cent market share.

For the 12 months to 31 March 2015, online retail sales across the categories monitored represented 6.4 per cent of retail spending reported by Statistics New Zealand for equivalent categories.  If the grocery and liquor sectors are excluded from both the official retail figures and the index, online spending is equivalent to around 9.7 per cent of traditional retail sales.