Three in Five Kiwis Using Overseas Shopping Websites

Three in Five Kiwis Using Overseas Shopping Websites

Auckland, 13 March 2017. Products not available in New Zealand and cheaper prices are luring Kiwi shoppers off the high street and onto overseas websites.

A recent Canstar Blue survey of nearly 2,000 Kiwis revealed that consumers’ thinking they could buy goods cheaper abroad was the main motivation for shopping on overseas websites (72%) This second biggest motivator was the lack of availability of products in New Zealand (71%).

Canstar Blue spokesperson, Emma Quantrill says:

“It seems that we’re finding it hard to shed our ‘rip off New Zealand’ image amongst domestic shoppers.

“With such a high proportion of households now having internet access and wifi widely – sometimes even freely – available, it’s no surprise that people are hopping online to shop. It’s as quick to access an overseas website as a domestic one and with the evolution of services such as New Zealand Posts ‘You Shop’, it is easier than ever before to have your goods delivered to you in New Zealand.”

So are goods really cheaper overseas?

A quick comparison found that a pair of Sony headphones costing $500 on a New Zealand website, could be bought for the equivalent of approximately NZ$420 on a US website. A Fitbit Charge 2 would set you back $320 in NZ as opposed to approximately NZ$250 in the US and a pair of Adidas shoes came in at $290 versus approximately NZ$224 on a UK website.

Quantrill went on to say:

“It only once you’ve calculated all the associated costs that you can tell if you are getting a bargain.

“At first glance it may look like you’re getting a great deal when using overseas websites, but remember you will need to use your bank’s rate of exchange to calculate the price in NZ dollars, consider any additional charges for a foreign purchase on your credit card and also include any delivery costs. Depending on the value of your purchase, you may also be liable to GST.”

What else gets us surfing the web?

It’s not just bargain hunting that gets us logged-on…

• We spend an average of 4 hours 16 minutes online everyday

• Nearly one quarter of us spend more time socialising online than in person. For women, this rises to 27% and in Southland an astonishing 36% - that’s nearly two out of every five people – socialising more via their phone, tablet or computer.

• 15% of people have used online dating sites. This drops to 11% in Hawkes Bay and Nelson and rises as high as 22% in Southland.

• 20% of men do more out of hours work from home because they have an internet connection. This compares to 18% of woman.

• Gen Ys spend over 50% per day longer online, than baby boomers (5 hours 22 minutes, 3 hours 31 minutes respectively).

And what type of internet are we using?

There are four main types of internet connections available in New Zealand:

• ADSL/Naked DSL - 43% of households use this

• Fibre Optic - 28% of households use this

• Cable - 9% of households use this

• Mobile Internet - 3% of households use this

Fibre Optic connections are generally the fastest connection type, followed by cable (or ‘VDSL’), then ADSL and mobile. Generally, fibre connections afford speeds of around 200Mbps, allowing you to download an average movie in 15 minutes or less. Cable connections are markedly slower, at about 60Mbps, and ADSL connections, with their old-school copper cabling, are around 24Mbps. Although ADSL connections still account for the majority, we expect this to change over time as fibre optic is gradually rolled out around the country.

Most Satisfied Customers – Broadband Providers

This year the Canstar Blue Overall Satisfaction Award goes to Flip.

Part of the Vocus Communications Group, Flip launched in the New Zealand market in 2012 and bills itself as “one of NZ’s smartest broadband providers”. Flip was awarded a maximum five stars in all but one of Canstar Blue’s satisfaction criteria.

For further information regarding this survey, please click here.

ENDS

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