Report: Online Shopping Will Increase

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Sep 12 2011

New Zealand Online Shopping Set to Grow

As our lives become more and more entwined in the internet, it’s important for businesses to be aware of and capitalise on the range of opportunities available.

There are now nearly one billion people connected to social networking sites worldwide, with Facebook collecting upwards of 700 million users and Google Plus claiming 10 million sign ups in the first month.

Social Media and Online Shopping (eCommerce) are continuing to grow within the online retail landscape – as evidenced by the fact that more than one third (34 per cent) of all online shoppers in New Zealand currently follow an online shopping site on Facebook.

Globally, New Zealand has had some of the lowest online shopping rates in the OECD, spending $1.5 billion in 2007 – compared with Europe that spent $160 billion (and the US that exceeded $200 billion).

So it stands to reason that New Zealand will play catch up – and in fact, if a recent report from PricewaterhouseCoopers and research firm Frost & Sullivan is correct, it will not only do that, but it will experience a boom in online spending

“Almost half of the New Zealand population will shop online in 2011 / 2012 with each shopper spending an average of almost NZ$1,400. Total country online shopping expenditure for the year is expected to reach $2.68 billion, representing an increase of 12 per cent over 2010.”

Key points of the report:

• Online shopping to increase to NZ$2.68 billion in 2011/12 – an increase of 12 per cent from 2010
• Over one third (34 per cent) of total online sales in 2011/12 will go to offshore online retailers
• Smartphones and tablet devices are key drivers of growth in online retail sales over last 12 months
• Social media is an integral part of online shopping with 34 per cent of shoppers following an online shopping site on Facebook

These figures should serve as a warning bell for retailers without an online store who are missing out. Online retail expenditure now accounts for 5.1 per cent of all retail sales. This puts New Zealand on a par with Australia, but still well behind markets such as the USA and UK, where online now accounts for 7.5% and 9% respectively of retail sales.

Frost & Sullivan senior research manager Phil Harpur says “Online shopping, both locally and offshore, is expected to show strong growth over the next four years, reaching $4.22 billion by 2015. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 12 per cent.”

And according to PwC’s Global Retail & Consumer Advisory Leader, Stuart Harker, “New Zealand’s retail landscape is commencing a structural shift as more consumers start to spend a greater share of their wallet online.”

Kiwis are rapidly changing how they spend their money and businesses should look closely at what they are doing to capture this growing market.

Navigating the ecommerce landscape need not be difficult. Purple Dog has a range of solutions that can assist all businesses in the digital space. For a free no obligation chat, just get in touch.

Source: PWC article