Phenomenal Growth in NZers Shopping Online, up 400

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Phenomenal Growth in New Zealanders Shopping Online, up 400%

- 1.25 Million Kiwis shopped online in last 12 months
- $1.5 Billion spent on new goods, used goods, and services
- Airline tickets most popular item bought online

Auckland, December 18, 2006 --- New findings from Nielsen Media Panorama report online shopping showing phenomenal growth over the last five years, with over 1.25 million New Zealanders having shopped online in the last 12 months compared to just 300,000 in 2001.

Of these 1.25 million online shoppers, 80 percent of them have shopped online in the last three months.

Ferrit.co.nz are working with Nielsen Media Research, by funding new online shopping questions to enrich the Panorama’s existing long-standing survey and publicising the results for the benefit of the wider retail industry.

“Over four hundred thousand Kiwis are regular online shoppers, having made at least six purchases in the last 12 months”, commented Mr Stuart Jamieson, executive director, Nielsen Media Research New Zealand. “This has grown over 700 percent from 2001, when just 52,000 people shopped regularly online”.

According to Nielsen Media Panorama, regular online shoppers are more likely to be relatively affluent, predominantly living in Auckland and Wellington, and more than a quarter of them are tertiary educated. There are few age barriers, with people from age 10 to 80 plus shopping online in 2006.

“Compared to 2001, the profile of an online shopper has not changed significantly, however, online shopping has now become more popular with those aged under 20, and to a lesser extent, the over 60s. It also now appeals across a broader range of qualifications and occupations”, Mr Jamieson said

“Our research tells us that in 2006, online shoppers are likely to be opinion leaders, early adopters who are attracted to new ideas and like trying new household products, financially astute, finding it easy to deal with money matters, as well as embracing change.”

“The really exciting opportunity for New Zealand is to build scale into our online retail industry and give consumers the choice to buy locally as well as overseas”, says Ralph Brayham, general manager of Ferrit.co.nz. “The more New Zealand retailers that serve this channel well, the better the consumer experience will be. As seen in overseas markets, ever increasing numbers of people will choose to take advantage of the convenience of buying new goods online. Our market is probably 8-10 years behind the US, and Ferrit’s large upfront investment is designed to be a real catalyst for growth.”

Online shoppers are heavy Internet users (59%) and 49% of them have broadband access at home. They are more likely to be light television viewers (45%). 51 percent have been to the cinema at least twice in the last six months and 48 percent are heavy magazine readers.

It is estimated that online spend on used goods, new goods and services exceeded $1.5 billion in 2006 with the most money being spent on airline tickets ($508M), travel related services (eg hotels, car hire) ($233M), computer hardware ($183M), and clothing/shoes ($149M).

“Showing the biggest growth is clothing and shoes which grew 886 percent in five years.”

In the last three months, online shoppers have spent an estimated average of $1,152 on airline tickets, $786 on other travel services, $483 on clothing/shoes, $158 on entertainment, and $79 on books/magazines.

About the Survey
The survey, using Nielsen Media Research’s single-source, multi-media Panorama survey, was conducted from July 2006 to September 2006 based on a sample size of 3,000 people 10 years and over. Panorama multimedia surveys provide insights into media habits, lifestyles, attitudes and product consumption in sectors such as automotive, finance, clothes shopping, FMCG, etc.

About Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is a global leader in advertising information services, while also offering print readership and consumer media research services. Nielsen Media monitors advertising across 12 key markets in the Asia Pacific region: South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Philippines, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand.

Visit www.nielsenmedia.co.nz for more information.

About Ferrit.co.nz
Ferrit.co.nz is New Zealand’s largest online shopping mall where consumers can access hundreds of thousands of products from a huge range of New Zealand retailers all in one place. Easily search, browse and compare product features and prices, and buy products from different retailers with one simple credit card entry.

ENDS

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