Kiwi shoppers are snapping up online goods from overseas at record rates

Kiwis have shopped up a storm online this Christmas. Photo / Getty Images

Kiwis have been making the most of favourable exchange rates to splash out at record levels for online purchases from overseas.

A new Marketview report for the BNZ notes a surge in offshore online shopping by Kiwis in the run-up to Christmas. The exchange rate and greater choice have been given as the main reasons for spending sprees.

November is typically the peak month for purchasing goods from overseas sites, when many customers want delivery in time for Christmas.

The Marketview report shows pre-Christmas online retail spending at offshore sites was stronger than ever this year - up 21 per cent on last November.

Strength in the Kiwi dollar recently is making imported goods cheaper for Kiwis - and they are buying more. Spending at offshore computing and clothing sites was up almost 30 per cent on last November.

High-end British fashion brands have also seen a strong growth in demand from Australian and New Zealand shoppers, online retailer MySale recently revealed.

MySale allows designers such as Vivienne Westwood and Gucci to sell off leftover stock at the end of a season. Luxury fashion retailer Belstaff and British boots brand Hunter were among the bestsellers down under.

"We are finding the devaluation of the pound is making it cheaper for Australian and New Zealand customers to buy from us, and we have been shipping much more products to them," MySale chief executive Carl Jackson recently told London's Evening Standard.

But it is not just the advantageous exchange rates that are causing the surge, retail consultant Chris Wilkinson from First Retail Group said.

"Yes, New Zealanders are increasingly snapping up goods on overseas sites like ASOS, MySale and Boohoo because the goods are cheaper due to the strong NZ dollar," he said.

"But there is also now an attitude that people are tired of the same old stuff they can get from the shops in New Zealand.

"They find shopping malls boring. They want something different and don't mind paying for it. It is a trend which is continuing to grow."

But the news wasn't all doom and gloom for Kiwi retailers.

Marketview reported online sales at domestic sites were also up 18 per cent on last November - two and a half times the growth rate experienced by physical stores.

And New Zealand retailers certainly did well behind the till in the lead-up to Christmas and the annual Boxing Day sales.

Figures released by Paymark on Wednesday revealed Kiwis spent $5.9 billion in Eftpos, debit cards and credit cards last month.

Eftpos/debit card shopping accounted for $3.7b in sales, with $2.8b being spent on credit cards, the latter a jump on $281 million from December 2015.

During the duration of 2016, Paymark processed 1.2b transactions for $57.4b of goods and services.

The annual total translates to averages of 255 transactions a person and $12,230 spending each in 2016.

"Noticeably a sector with below-average growth was the "clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing" sector (+3.7 per cent). This sector does face strong competition from online merchants," Paymark said in a statement.

Leading online providers

• Marks & Spencer: Womenswear & lingerie to menswear, beauty, kids, food, wine, flowers & gifts
• ASOS: British online fashion and beauty store. Primarily aimed at young adults, it sells over 850 brands
• Amazon: Books, movies, music and games along with electronics, toys, apparel, sports, tools, groceries and general home and garden items
• Wal-Mart: Selection of electronics, home, furniture, video games, baby, clothing, toys, gifts and more
• The Home Depot: Homewear including appliances, bathroom decorating ideas, kitchen remodelling, patio furniture, power tools, bbq grills and carpeting