Total online retail spending by New Zealanders in March was up 11% on spending in March last year.
Online spending at local merchants was up 9% on March last year, slightly ahead of the 6% annual growth rate for sales at physical stores (based on Statistics NZ figures for electronic card transactions for core retail excluding hospitality).
Online spending at offshore sites was up 14% on March last year. Part of this growth will reflect higher offshore prices in NZ dollar terms. For example, the NZD has depreciated 10% against the USD and 12% against the Euro since March last year.
Purchases of Computer and Entertainment Media goods continued their strong run, with both categories up by more than 30% on March last year. Spending on Clothing was up 16% from a year ago, with both local and offshore sites showing double-digit growth. Online food purchases from local merchants grew strongly; as did purchases from department and variety stores (locally and offshore).
