It was another huge month for Kiwis and their online spending, up 50.1% on May last year. It seems like a long time ago, but for the first two weeks of May most of us were still in lockdown (Level 3).
It was another huge month for Kiwis and their online spending, up 50.1% on May last year. It seems like a long time ago, but for the first two weeks of May most of us were still in lockdown (Level 3). It wasn’t until the middle of the month that Level 2 began and most physical retailers were able to re-open.
Despite the ability to shop in person, spending at the domestic online offering was huge, up 92.7% on May last year and up 9.9% on April 2020 (when we were in Level 4 lockdown for most of the month).
All category groupings experienced strong increases in spending, but most of all was the Furniture/Housewares/Hardware sector. Although this category only accounts for a small proportion of online spending (6%), the growth was huge (+136%). Interestingly, the furniture sector was one of only three overall retail storetypes (including physical retail) that grew in May.
Groceries & Liquor (up 46% vs May last year) was the only online category to experience a drop in sales compared to April (down 13.0%).
