Online purchases soar thanks to strong dollar

Purchases from international retailers are creeping towards comprising half of Kiwis' online spending. Photo/FILE

Kiwis' online retail spending in September was up 15 per cent on last September, with a strong New Zealand dollar making many international purchases cheaper for consumers.

Bank of New Zealand's Online Retail Sales report showed strong annual growth in online spending, led by a 40 per cent increase in domestic food and clothing spend and 40 per cent growth in overseas entertainment media, including Netflix and Spotify.

Domestic retail spend increased 13 per cent on September 2015, and international sales were up 16 per cent.

Compared to September 2015, the New Zealand dollar was 15 per cent stronger against the US dollar, 35 per cent higher against the pound, 16 per cent higher against the euro, and 7 per cent up against the Australian dollar.

This makes international purchases cheaper, but the lower prices also encouraged people to buy more, the report said.

Both domestic and international online sales has grown in every month since at least 2012 compared to the same month in the previous year.

Purchases from international retailers were creeping towards comprising half of Kiwis' online spending, growing from around 35 per cent of the market in 2012 to just above 45 per cent.

Around a quarter of international growth in international spend came from computer stores - possibly due to the iPhone 7 release.