Gary Baker, institutional research director at the Bank of New Zealand, said purchases from offshore sites turned in double digit-growth and rose 13 per cent annually.
"Comparing May 2016 to May last year, computer products, electrical goods, clothing and entertainment media were responsible for three-quarters of the increase in online sales at offshore sites," Baker found.
Wilkinson said currency changes might also drive more Kiwis to shop online with British sites and the pound might still fall further.
"The pound needs to sink to a greater level before it's going to deeply engage consumers and before currency became a truly compelling proposition in consumer behaviour. It's moved only a few cents," he said.
Debenhams, Marks and Spencer, ASOS and boohoo were offering free freight to New Zealand, which was hugely attractive to shoppers here, he said.
"Prices you see includes VAT like our GST. But as you're buying from overseas, you shouldn't be paying VAT. That VAT money is applied to the freight," he said.
Despite the attractions, some New Zealanders might be wary of buying online, he said.
"Research we've seen recently is that consumers are increasingly concerned with being pinged with GST on imported good and concerned because leading brands are geo-restricting their sales to overseas customers," Wilkinson said.
Some big online stores were also restricting stock and only selling their own lines, he said.
"Online stores such as ASOS are increasingly shifting to their own brands where there is more margin," Wilkinson said.
