More than 85% of the world’s Internet users surveyed have purchased something online, according to The Nielsen Company’s Global Online Survey of Internet shopping habits, conducted in October and November 2007. The research company said that more than half of Internet users had made a least one purchase online within the past month.

With an estimated 3.2 million New Zealanders being Internet users, this means that 64% make a purchase online at least once a month - a number that’s high by anyone standards. Research clearly shows that most New Zealanders feel very secure about making a purchase online.

So, what are Internet users buying online? Well, according to Nielsen, the top 5 are:

1. Books (41%)
2. Clothing, accessories and shoes (34%)
3. DVDs, videos and games (24%)
4. Airline tickets (24%)
5. Consumer electronics (23%)

With just over 2 million of New Zealand’s Internet users making a purchase online at least once a month, online shopping is becoming a major player in the retail market.

If you have an e-commerce store, particularly if you’re selling books and clothing then, given current trends, you really need to market your site to take advantage of the boom in online shopping.

NZS.com can help you by providing targeted traffic to your site. For more information, see our online advertising options.