Only 15% of consumers plan to do all Christmas shopping in-store

• Nearly three quarters of Kiwis expect to shop online this holiday season, with only 15% planning to do all their shopping in-store
• 40% say buying products online is cheaper than in-store
• 72% expect restaurants and cafes to stay open over the Christmas and New Year period

Consumers are turning to online shopping to beat the crowds, avoid traffic and save money this holiday season, with just 15% of Kiwis planning to do all their Christmas shopping in-store.

According to the latest MYOB Business Monitor Consumer Snapshot survey of 1,000 people aged over 18, 72% of Kiwis say they expect to do at least some of their Christmas shopping online, with a third (33%) of under 25s expecting to stay away from the malls and make the most of online options.

Around 40% of consumers say buying products online is cheaper than in-store.

MYOB country manager Ingrid Cronin-Knight says this reinforces the need for Kiwi businesses to have an online presence – whether it be an online store or even a social media page – to engage with customers and help drive sales.

“For businesses invested in bricks and mortar we’d say having an online presence should be a complementary consideration to help drive growth.”

MYOB’s Consumer Snapshot from July 2019 found just 4% of Kiwis shop exclusively online, whereas 63% make purchases both online and in-store.

Online vs In-store

Here’s how Kiwi’s rate the pros and cons of online versus in-store:

Businesses expected to remain open over Christmas

The MYOB Consumer Snapshot also highlighted the growing expectation among consumers for a wide range of services to be available over the holiday period.

• Nearly three quarters (73%) of Kiwis surveyed say they expect grocery stores to remain open over the holiday season – including all stat days apart from Christmas Day.
• 72% say restaurants and cafes should remain open at this time, as should hospitality operators (68%), healthcare services (62%) and retail stores (54%).

“Modern consumers have an always-on expectation that now goes beyond online. We’re really mindful that this can put pressure on small businesses and their staff – being prepared and being flexible are two things that can assist to ensure businesses make the best of the holiday season without unwanted stress,” says Ms Cronin-Knight. 

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For further comment or other information please contact:

Lenska Papich, MYOB NZ Corporate Affairs Manager
M: 021 410 496 / E: Lenska.Papich@myob.com

Gerard Blank, The Agency Communications Limited Director
P: 03 341 5841 / M: 0275 243 629 / E: gerard@theagencynz.co.nz

About MYOB

MYOB is a leading cloud-based business management solutions provider. It makes business life easier for approximately 1.2 million businesses across Australia and New Zealand by simplifying accounting, payroll, tax, practice management, CRM, websites, job costing, inventory and more. MYOB provides ongoing support via many client service channels including a network of over 40,000 accountants, bookkeepers and other consultants. It is committed to ongoing innovation, particularly in cloud computing solutions, and in 2015 was awarded the BRW award for the most innovative large company for 500+ employees and placed 2nd in BRW’s Most Innovative Companies Award list across all categories nationally.  For more information, visit myob.co.nz or follow @MYOB on Twitter.

About the MYOB Business Monitor Snapshot survey

The New Zealand MYOB Consumer Snapshot survey was conducted using Pure Profile’s consumer panel. In total, 1000 respondents were surveyed. The survey was conducted online from 28 November - 2 December 2019