We’ve touched upon mobile trends in New Zealand and consumer behaviour & online shopping habits. But did you know that New Zealanders prefer to buy locally? 53% state they’d prefer to buy products within their own country. When they’re hunting for local businesses and products, more than half of Kiwis use the internet to find what they’re looking for.
What does this mean for you, the local business owner?
If you have a small or medium-sized business, you have the chance to attract local shoppers through location-based ads. By understanding what kinds of things people are searching for, you can provide the most relevant information both on your website and in your advertising strategy.
Why do people research local businesses?
When researching local businesses, the majority (78%) use search engines to find more information. 40% of them are interested in planning an activity, but most of them (58%) are trying to find prices, while many people (34%) are looking for discounts or coupons.
Unsurprisingly, the two biggest factors in impacting a customer’s decision to choose a local business are price and the availability of the items or timing that they were needed.
However, New Zealand consumers are still planning ahead – only 17% of Kiwis are searching for local business info moments before they need it; the rest are doing their research ahead of time. That explains why most of this research is still being done on computers (65%) – they’re still at home when they’re doing it. But, 29% of people are using their smartphones to find local information, so you’ll want to make sure all the relevant info they’re looking for like prices, opening hours and location are readily accessible on both mobile and desktop.
International online shopping
While Kiwis tend to prefer to buy locally, 58% still purchase products online from foreign countries at least once per year. In fact, only 17% say they’ve never bought anything online from abroad.
So why are Kiwis buying from foreign countries?
There’s just better stuff available. 43% choose to buy from international websites due to availability, 28% say there’s a broader range, 28% find there’s better payment and service conditions and 27% find there are more appealing offers than local websites.
What kinds of products do Kiwis think are better from abroad?
- Books, CDs, DVDs or video games (41%)
- Clothing & accessories or footwear (41%)
- Cosmetics, beauty or health products (23%)
While most Kiwis prefer to buy locally, 28% are willing to buy items online from foreign countries – but only from certain countries that they seem trustworthy enough.
Not only are they selective about which countries they buy from, but Kiwis also are wary of:
- Tricky returns (29%)
- Problems with customer service (22%)
- Payment in foreign currencies (20%)
- Overall trustworthiness of online shops (19%)
Beyond these concerns, some problems that might stop New Zealanders from actually buying things from international shops include not having international shipping, an insecure website, long delivery times and poor translation.
With all of these insights on local and international online shopping trends in New Zealand, local SMBs have a lot of areas to focus on. Contact us today to discuss your local digital marketing strategy for 2019.
