The video shows two Countdown Rotorua staff trying to grab bags from a group of women as they try to leave the store. They verbally abuse the staff, kick them and hit them over the head.
The video had been uploaded to YouTube and Facebook and attracted several thousand hits on both sites.
It was taken by a Rotorua man and uploaded to Facebook on January 4. Since then it has been spread around Rotorua, New Zealand and Australia via the internet and attracted many negative comments from Rotorua people angered by the women's actions.
Images of another incident which went viral was of a woman being beaten in the central city by another woman. The images were seen across the country and in Australia, with residents in both countries contacting police wanting to identify the woman.
The assault involved a woman being verbally abused, then dragged from a dairy in the central city and attacked. The victim was kicked and stomped on in front of about 20 people, including children, at about 10.30am.
The incident prompted an angry reaction from members of the public, many of them upset that nobody stepped in to stop the attack.
Waiariki Institute of Technology social media expert Narissa Bayler said the trend in filming fights and crimes had become popular in the United States and had caught on in New Zealand.
"People like the idea of being able to spread information around," she said.
"It is so easy for things these days to be spread around a vast number of people. If you post something on your Facebook, your friends can see it and share it with their friends and that continues."
She said people often liked the idea of things which they had uploaded being seen by large numbers of people.
"It isn't just videos. People also share a lot of blogs and articles and try to engage other people's opinions and get reactions."
Netsafe executive director Martin Cocker said people often gained notoriety when things went viral.
He said there wasn't necessarily a change in behaviour which was prompting people to post fight or crime videos online.
"It is now exceptionally easy to capture video these days as a lot of people have smartphones or phones which can take video," he said.
"It seems to be a cultural thing at the moment that if you capture something interesting you have to post it online."
He said people did not always think about the effects of uploading fight or crime videos.
"Some people think that it is cool to post videos of people fighting or someone being bullied, but it can have a detrimental effect on those involved," he said.
"The best thing for people to do if they are concerned about videos or images which have been posted online is to report it to us at Netsafe."
Mr Cocker said people could visit website www.theorb.org.nz to flag what they think is an inappropriate video or image. The image will then be reviewed by people at Netsafe who will pass on to authorities if necessary.
