Methods that Kiwis Prefer for Payments

 For some time now, the e-commerce market in New Zealand has been characterized by a relatively high per-capita basket spend, paired with a willingness to engage in cross-border shopping. The industry’s expansion was set to stay on a steady course throughout  2019, in line with the general outlook for New Zealand’s economy.

New Zealand experienced an expanded gross domestic product by 2.3 percent year-on-year during the fourth quarter of 2018, slowing marginally from 2.3 percent the past quarter. In a fashion similar to that of Australia, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand has maintained an unchanged cash rate at 1.75 percent for an extended period. It is expected that current levels will be maintained for  the next four quarters. Meanwhile, the e-commerce market will be boosted by a rise in online spending in the New Zealand rural areas.

New Zealand Market Overview

 New Zealand has become an e-commerce market that is constituted by high cross-border spending due to significant uptake of e-commerce events such as  Singles Day, Black Friday, and strong rural spending growth.  These factors have played a role in the country recording double-digit business to the growth of consumer e-commerce since 2015, leading to a $4 billion market worth.

Today, E-commerce accounts for 8.1 percent of all of New Zealand’s retail spending.

 In terms of geographical opportunity areas, it has been noticed that regional online shopping growth has begun to outpace growth in urban areas.  So far, online spend has gone up 15 percent year-on-year in New Zealand rural areas, compared with the 14% growth in urban areas and the 12% growth in metropolitan regions probably as these areas meet up to e-commerce early-adopters in the cities. General business to consumer e-commerce growth is projected to temper somewhat, reducing to 8.7% by 2021.

The average online spend each year is $1,876.24. The online shoppers between the ages of 30 and 44 are most active, reaching an average of 27 transactions per year.  However, the New Zealanders between ages 45 and 59 are the greatest spenders, each spending about $2,023 online each year.

Some 40 percent of New Zealand men and 38 percent of women have shopped online. Women have turned out to be more frequent shoppers than the male folks, averaging a total of 23 online transactions each year. However, men are most likely to spend higher amounts on lesser items – spending around $27 higher per transaction.  For instance, New Zealand men spend almost double the amount women spend on each transaction in the beauty and health category.

While New Zealand e-shoppers respond positively to seasonal events, they are often more enthusiastic about newer e-commerce promotions. Events like Singles Day, Cyber Monday, and Black Friday have all proven very popular, with 2018’s Black Friday sales being the highest-ever recorded in the country, a 20% uplift on 2017’s sales.

Preferred Payment Methods

Prepaid Cards

Cards currently take well over 50% of the payment market in New Zealand’s e-commerce space. Cards are used for a total of 56 percent of all e-commerce transactions and account for up to $2.3 billion of sales. One can conclude that the growth of online casino with Paysafe in New Zealand could be partly explained by the country’s almost entire bank penetration, which is calculated to be at 99 percent. Also, the credit and debit card penetration is at 3.07 per capita, which is also high.

Digital Wallets

After cards, digital wallets are the second most used payment method by New Zealanders. Digital wallets already occupy a 22% stake in the country’s e-commerce payments market, a rate that is similar to that of Australia. The use of digital wallets in e-commerce is predicted to swiftly increase in the coming year to take over 27.7 percent of the e-commerce market by 2021. Some of the popular options are Visa Checkout and PayPal.

Buy Now Pay Late

 There are some other synergies between the New Zealand and Australian payment trends. There’s a proliferation in demand for ‘buy now, pay later’ services in both countries to draw in new customers and make shopping more accessible and affordable for younger shoppers. As one may suspect, cash payments are also very low in the country, as it only amounts to three percent of online payments. While this figure may be low, it is expected to drop to 2.6 percent by 2021.

Bank Transfers

Bank transfers in New Zealand only makes up for a 17% share of the e-commerce payments space, and usage is projected to grow slightly in 2021. This is boosted by the use of local platforms like POLi, which lets consumers make direct payments from their online bank account to an online casino and other merchant websites without having to use a credit card.

Top Activities to Spend Money On eCommerce

The penetration of smartphones is quite high in New Zealand, at 76 percent. This automatically translates into a strong e-commerce market via mobile, with almost 31 percent of e-commerce sales currently completed on a smartphone or mobile device, for a whopping  $1.3 billion in total sales. Apple products are quite popular in New Zealand as 80 percent of smartphones used in the country are iPhones, which is 10 percent greater than the global average.

Gambling

Gambling activities like lotto, sports bets, and casino games are quite popular in New Zealand. Tourists and Local residents are regularly trying their luck in some of the best online casinos or simply making bets on sports such as horse racing with high hopes of winning jackpots.

It is probably considered the easiest and one of the most convenient ways to have fun and win real money; gambling has become an activity New Zealanders spend more money on. This is no surprise because online casino games can easily be accessed via smart devices like an iPhone.

Offshore buying

When it comes to the kind of products that New Zealanders spend money on offshore, footwear and clothing dominate, with a whopping  54% of online spend going into the pursed of offshore e-commerce merchants in the clothing and footwear category. Foreign merchants who cater to younger demographics are likely to record a healthy performance in this market. Individuals between the ages of 30 and younger have a 50% higher chance of purchasing from abroad than customers who are above 30.