The growth rate for New Zealanders’ total online retail spending was back to double-digits in May, with spending up 14 per cent compared to the previous May, according to the latest BNZ and Marketview monthly report.
Gary Baker, director, Institutional Research, Bank of New Zealand said the result seems to confirm earlier suspicions that the timing of Easter and weather contributed to the dip in growth rate observed in April.
Purchases from offshore online retailers were up 16 per cent on May last year, continuing along the same growth trajectory as recent results.
Approximately half of this growth was driven by purchases in Computer, Clothing and Cosmetic categories.
Spending at local online retailers was up 13 per cent on May last year.
We’ve now seen double-digit annual growth rates for 18 out of the past 20 months for local online merchants. For comparison, local bricks-and-mortar stores were only up 4 per cent on May last year.
Food, Clothing and Electronics were responsible for the majority of growth at local online sites, with Department stores also experiencing strong results.
