International sales down, domestic sales up. 6 days of lockdown!
- Online sales in February tracked in line with prevailing trends, but in March the economic effects of covid-19 were apparent.
- While total online sales were only up 6% on March last year, spending in the Groceries and Liquor category was up 42%.
- Other significant moves were a 10% rise in spending in the Pharmacy and Cosmetics category and a 19% fall in Clothing and Footwear.
- Spending at domestic online retailers was up 24% on March last year, boosted by the higher spending on Groceries and Liquor.
- Spending at international sites was down 18% on March last year. International purchases were previously tracking 12% below last year’s levels, as GST changes in December cut into spending. March saw a further softening. Falls were evident in most categories, but 3 bucked the trend: spending in the Entertainment, Liquor and Grocery categories at offshore sites was higher than in March last year.
- March only included 6 days of lockdown, but consumers stocked up. April figures will cover a full month of lockdown (almost completely at level 4) and we are likely to see wider disparity between spending at online sites selling “essentials” and others (closed for most of April).
