New Zealand Online Retail Sales (Oct & Provisional Nov)

New Zealand Online Retail Sales, October and Provisional November 2017 Spending

• New Zealanders’ total online retail spending in October was 9% higher than October last year. This growth is in line with the trend so far in the second half of 2017. It’s down from the 15% growth rate observed over 2016, but well above the 1% year-on-year growth in spending at local bricks-and-mortar stores in October1.

• Over half of October’s growth compared to 2016 was from stores in the Food and Computer/Electronic sectors.

• Beginning with November 2017, we are releasing online spending figures earlier, on a provisional basis. We will monitor the stability of provisional figures versus actual figures and alter our approach if needed.

• The provisional November figures show total online spending up 12% compared to November last year, with purchases from overseas merchants particularly strong - up 14%. November is usually the peak month for purchasing goods from overseas, with many customers wanting to ensure delivery in time for Christmas.

November 2017 online retail spending (Provisional commentary)

• Total online spending in November was up 12% compared to November last year, with purchases from overseas merchants up 14% and purchases from domestic merchants up 11%.

• Looking just at the purchases from overseas sites: o Online spending on Computer and Electronic goods was up by more than 30% on November last year (a possible Christmas stocking spoiler, although a lot of new product releases may also be a factor). This may also be attributable to retail events such as Singles Day and Black Friday, which heavily feature discounts on electronics.

• Spending at Entertainment Media sites was up 7% year-on-year (some spending in this category is probably picked up in the Computer category). Spending at Clothing sites was up 6%.

• The New Zealand dollar was weaker than a year ago (e.g. 4% lower versus the USD and 5% lower versus the AUD). But while Kiwis might be paying more because imported online goods are more expensive, volumes appear strong.

• As further context, the calculation of the growth rate for this November is comparing to a high base, with spending in November last year particularly strong (up 20% on November 2015).

Reports can be downloaded here:

www.bnz.co.nz/onlineretailindex and www.marketview.co.nz/free-reports/

For technical notes, please refer to one of our earlier “Quarterly update” reports.

For details on how our measure compares with other studies of online sales in New Zealand please refer to the “Quarterly update” report released in February 2014 and the report on May 2014 online sales released on 2 July 2014.

ENDS

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