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From Labubus in Taupō to robots in Manurewa, New Zealanders have spent big money on all types of quirky items this year.
Payment company Afterpay has released its wrap-up of the top things Kiwis purchased this year, including breakdowns by suburbs and the days some of them peaked.
Ringlights were one of the highest-selling items this year, with nearly 45,000 sold in New Zealand and peaking on August 18.
Papatoetoe, Manurewa and Māngere East had the highest number of ring-light purchases, with women accounting for 62% of them.
Women featured particularly strongly across many of the items bought, making up nearly three-quarters of the 6000-plus Labubu figurine sales, which were especially popular in Elgin, Green Island and Taupō, and Gen Y women drove 67% of sales for blind box toys like Sonny and Smiskis.
LED facemasks were particularly popular with women too, who bought 69% of the nearly 430 sold through the payment service.
Labubus were among the top-selling items in New Zealand, according to Afterpay.
Gen Z led the way with sales of cowboy boots, heatless curler sets, digital cameras and walking pads, but didn’t account for over 50% of the sales of any of these products.
Gen Y, however, dominated purchases of hammocks, with Manurewa, Papatoetoe and Henderson being hotspots, and robot vacuums.
Manurewa appeared as a top sale spot for these tech helpers, but also appeared in six of the 11 products included.
Gen Xers had a strong uptake in Smart Rings, buying 22% of the nearly 3000 sold through Afterpay, with the wearable tech being particularly popular in Papatoetoe, Henderson and Flat Bush.
Emily Marshall, a senior director at Afterpay, said, “Kiwis voted with their wallets for joy, comfort and self-expression” this year.
“Afterpay’s quirkiest purchases of 2025 paint a picture of a country that’s savvy, culturally plugged-in and unafraid to embrace contradictions.
“It’s a real-time snapshot of how we live, spend and express ourselves - and that’s what makes this data so uniquely Kiwi.”
