Bananas top the list of trolley items

Bake them in a cake or blend them in a smoothie, our favourite fruit the banana comes in it's own biodegradable wrapper. Photo / Doug Sherring.

Kiwis are a healthy bunch with bananas the product we popped in our trolleys most last year.

The other top 10 selling items at the checkout were also fresh produce - including vitamin packed broccoli, avocado, sweetcorn and capsicum.

New data from Countdown supermarket's Trolley Report reveals New Zealanders bought an average of 18kg of bananas per person in 2016.

And it's not surprising - the bendy fruit are the biggest selling supermarket item in most Western countries - and they have been for many years.

The second most popular item among Countdown's customers was Homebrand $1 bread followed by broccoli, avocado, sweetcorn and milk.

Strawberries, cucumber and milk were also in the top 10.

The data was collected from purchases made by the 2.8 million customers at the store each week.

Chris Fisher from Countdown said it was no surprise healthy choices dominated the top 10.

"Produce is the first thing customers see when they come into our stores," he said.

"We're committed to encouraging our customers to buy more fresh fruit and vegetables and working directly with our growers is a key part of this."

The data also revealed chicken (with skin on) was our favourite meat followed by beef mince and corned silverside.

Salmon topped the list of most purchased seafood, followed by live mussels.

But as well as the healthy options, New Zealanders also love a treat and there were clear favourites in the junk food aisle.

The most purchased block of chocolate was Cadbury Dairy Milk and Whittaker's took out the top selling limited edition chocolate bar with its Jelly Tip flavour.

Snickers was the small bar sold most at the checkout and ready salted chips beat all other flavours.

As well as choosing mostly healthy options, the data also revealed New Zealanders care for the environment. The sale of reusable shopping bags shot up 130 per cent in 2016 compared to sales in the previous year.

Countdown customers bought 430,000 reusable bags last year, with Auckland the biggest consumer, purchasing more than 180,000 in 2016.

The trend of online shopping is also growing with an increasing number of New Zealanders signing up for the service.

Each week more than 23,000 online orders are completed with 1700 personal shoppers employed by the company.

There are 100 delivery drivers with the longest route 160km and the shortest just 170m.

Chris Fisher said more New Zealanders were choosing to shop online rather than spend time at the checkout.

"Kiwis lives are changing and so too are our shopping habits," Fisher said.

"In most families both parents are working, we are time-poor and are looking for ways to make our lives easier."