NZ online retail sales showed a softer-than-usual growth for the month of July with spending up only 8 per cent compared to the previous corresponding period.
Gary Baker, BNZ director – Institutional Research, stated that despite the sluggish growth, online was still stronger than bricks-and-mortar stores growth where spending was up just 2.5 per cent compared to July 2016.
Baker stated annual online spending across the retail categories they cover is estimated to be $4 billion excluding GST. This is equivalent to 7.7 per cent total retail sales reported in Statistics NZ’s RTS (comparing like-for-like categories).
“Excluding the food and liquor sectors from both the RTS and our Index, online spending is equivalent to 11 per cent of retail sales,” he said.
Purchases from offshore online retailers were up 8 per cent compared to the prior corresponding period. Continued strong spending on Computers and Electronics offset flat year-on-year spending at overseas merchants for Clothing and Entertainment Media.
Spending at local online retailers was up 7 per cent on July last year. Clothing and Food store-types continue to drive a significant portion of the growth in online spending at domestic stores.
