Interest in a range of goods spiked during level 4. Photo / File
From a Sky Tower made out of trash to spa pools, caravans and mount bikes, the lockdown has only fuelled online window shopping on Trade Me.
Data released by Trade Me showed, in a similar trend to previous lockdowns, boredom-busting items were a hot ticket for Kiwis looking for some "bubble-friendly fun".
A Sky Tower made from trash by Lloyd Burr during his stay at Rydges Rotorua managed isolation facility was the most popular auction in the Bay of Plenty during lockdown and was viewed 136,030 times.
It stood at 2.3m tall, made out of meal packaging and cardboard from care packages he received from friends and family, he said in the description.
The listing was added to 900 watchlists and had 44 bids by the time it sold for $605.
Burr mentioned an extensive list of the items used to help build the structure including three feijoa kombucha lids, nine plastic yoghurt and baked bean pottles, and 23 cardboard meal lids.
The ring around the main tower and telecommunication detail was made using 21 plastic knives and 22 plastic forks.
The craft items used included two rolls of adhesive tape, three bottles of PVA glue, and a glue stick were also used to help bring the structure to life.
Burr said in the post the money would be donated to Blind Low Vision NZ, a charity that supports those with sight loss.
During lockdown, a turbo sawmill in Katikati was the most expensive item from the region to sell, fetching $20,000.
The description stated it was purchased new a year ago to mill trees on the seller's farm, "but due to unforeseen circumstances, we sold the farm so the mill has not had much use".
Despite being in lockdown, Bay of Plenty members showed excitement for the fast-approaching warmer weather and fewer lockdown restrictions with spa pools, caravans and mountain bikes proving popular, Fuyala said.
In the week before moving to level 3, there was a 15 per cent increase in searches for caravans compared with the previous week, with more than 4100 searches.
During that same time, mountain bikes saw a 47 per cent increase in searches to 2500 while searches for outdoor furniture was up 25 per cent to 1000.
Spa pools were also popular, up 21 per cent with 5100 searches.
Face mask searches also spiked to 59,100 nationwide - a fifth of those in the Bay.
There are now more than 600 listings for face masks.
Trade Me marketplace head Ivan Fuyala said a natural disaster and civil emergency policy was introduced last year to help Kiwis get items they needed at a reasonable price in events like a pandemic.
"Listings that attempt to take an excessive profit during a disaster or emergency, are not permitted."
Meanwhile, Paymark's consumer spend trends showed spending dropped 33 per cent in the week ended August 22 compared with the same week last year. This included the Monday and Tuesday before lockdown.
Spending last week was down 41 per cent on the same week in 2020.
Last year, Trade Me logged 809,000 nationwide searches for bikes in the first week of level 3 as well as a spike in weights and treadmills as gyms remained closed.
Televisions, Nintendo Switches, and gaming PCs were also in high demand, as were desks as people tried to sort out their work-from-home setups.
New listings for homewares last year shot up 134 per cent one day into level 3, and electronics listings were up 113 per cent compared with the same date, April 28, in 2019
New listings for clothes were also up 15 per cent.
Fuyala said they expected the same trends would be seen for the move to level 3 this year.
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