94.9% of the 62 billion dollars that Kiwis spend on shopping each year still happens offline.
Yet eCommerce is hot and getting hotter. Perhaps that's because every month there are more than 110,000 NZ searches for "how to shop online" - more and more Kiwis are venturing into the online shopping space, and local businesses need to be there (or risk losing out to more fleetfooted competitors, here and offshore).The 2012 Nielsen Online Retail Report has recently been released and it reveals that just under half of New Zealand (49%) now buys products online! That translates to more than 60% of Kiwi internet users who purchase online - and 97% of NZ web users who research products and services online (even if they eventually buy the products offline).
Already 5.1% of NZ retail sales are made online
That percentage is expected to double over the next few years (it's close to that already, in the U.K. and the U.S.).
What else can the Nielsen Online Retail Report 2012 tell us about eCommerce?
The number of online shoppers who have purchased an item via their mobile is up from 11% to 16% year on year. And note that this is for items not intended for use on a mobile – so that includes those who shop for airline tickets, accommodation, books, clothing, food and beverage etc.
In general, Kiwi online shoppers are buying more often.
The number of customers who purchased six or more items in the past year increased by 21 percent compared to 2010 and those buying 11 or more items grew by 38 percent.
Why the increase in frequency? The Nielsen Report identifies some of the contributing factors:
- It's more convenient to compare products and prices online
- Consumers are being regularly prompted by emails from daily deal sites
- The increased availability of broadband (which makes all online activity easier)
- Kiwis are increasingly accessing the internet via mobile phones (so it's more convenient to shop online, more often, from anywhere)
- Increased trust in the security of online transactions
- Increased opportunity to purchase products outside of the consumer’s physical location
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