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Getting up early for a garage sale is one of the great New Zealand Saturday pastimes. But garage sales, second-hand bookshops and even purveyors of new goods have discovered a real rival in internet trading.
Last year, Kiwis spent more than $1.5 billion on goods and services over the internet. And a recent Nielson Media survey showed 1.25 million of us now shop online - an increase of 400 per cent in five years.
This may be a relative drop in the bucket but, if overseas trends are a guide, traditional retailers may soon be shaking in their shoes.
Publicly, however, retailers deny the internet's a threat. Sue Tuia, of Cash Converters, says: "We don't see Trade Me as a major competitor."
The chain, which sells second-hand goods, says it has seen no noticeable decrease in sales since the rise of Trade Me. Ms Tuia says that's because many of the chain's customers do not use the internet - or even have a credit card. But Cash Converters does use Trade Me itself, to sell specialised goods to a wider market and to auction abandoned goods.
"Bricks-and-mortar" retailers deny internet trading is hurting sales. Retailers Association spokesman Barry Hellberg says many outlets are using the web to supplement sales.
Among supermarkets, "only one of the two big companies actually uses the web to sell direct", and the country's biggest retailer, The Warehouse, uses its website "only to promote its image".
He believes some consumers refuse to buy online because they fear their credit card details will be misused. But it's also easier to get faulty goods repaired, replaced or refunded from a physical store, he says. Yet Trade Me's success has spawned a raft of retail sites. Telecom's Ferrit sells new goods, while others provide search facilities which compare prices and guide users to deals and retailers.
Internet traders are betting on overseas trends which show that 5 per cent of shopping in the US and 10 per cent in Britain is done online.
Software entrepreneur Rod Drury is certain the internet is the future of shopping. Already, music is downloaded, many hotel bookings are emailed, and Air New Zealand has "reinvented itself" using the web as a retail channel.
But he agrees shopping is a social experience in New Zealand and doubts that will change.
"We have a lot more of the owner-operated stores which are probably a much more interesting shopping experience than the homogeneous stuff that you get in the States, where every mall is exactly the same.
"So I don't think the internet is necessarily the death-knell of retail because I think retail is more than just about buying stuff."
What Mr Drury, a director on Trade Me's advisory board, does see is people increasingly doing their product research over the internet.
Internet shopping is also generating growth in associated areas, such as the courier industry.
This is evident even in New Zealand, where NZ Post credits Trade Me with a strong growth in parcel mail when letters are on the decline.
But like any retail therapy, internet shoppers can get carried away. At any one time, there seem to be 20,000 to 60,000 people on Trade Me, indicating that some people are logged on permanently. Some sneak a look during work hours or even receive text messages when they are outbid.
Psychologist Marc Wilson says that while he knows of no research on internet auction addiction, it is probably like all addictions - the experience reinforces the behaviour.
"Part of that is the suspense generated by the process as the auction clock ticks down. Then, when you are successful, that gives you a rush that backs up the suspense - or you don't get the deal but you know you'll have a chance next time."
Dr Wilson, of Victoria University, says another reason for the popularity of "e-purchasing" is the psychological distance.
"While the payoff isn't immediate, neither is the purchase, particularly if it's by credit card - after all, that's not real money, is it? It's like buying something and not having to pay for it."
He thinks buying at a store gives shoppers time to think about their purchases before paying for them.
- NZPA
