(Taken from nbr.co.nz) The number of online shoppers has now reached over 1.6 million (49 percent of the total population aged 18+), an increase of 122,000 on the previous year and more than double since 2004. (see chart right)
Nielsen, the leading global provider of information and insights, has also found those shopping online are now rapidly increasing the frequency of their purchases. The number of customers who purchased six or more items in the past year increased by 21 percent compared to 2010 and those buying 11 or more items grew by 38 percent.
The most popular products and services are airline tickets with 50 percent of online shoppers purchasing in this category, followed by clothing/shoes/accessories (32%), books/magazines (29%), entertainment tickets (27%) and travel related services such as accommodation and car hire (24%).
The Nielsen Online Retail Report identifies a combination of factors for the increasing popularity of online retail:
- Convenience of comparing products and prices
- Promotional emails from daily deal sites
- Development in technology, specifically broadband and usage of the internet via mobile phones
- Increased trust in the security of online transactions
- Increased opportunity to purchase products outside of the consumer’s locality