Online grocery shoppers also tend to spend less than they do in store, because they are not so tempted to add impulse purchases.
In some categories, however, shoppers can make significant savings online.
A recent survey by Australia's Productivity Commission concluded that
Australian consumers could save up to 50 per cent by shopping from either local or overseas websites. This is hardly surprising, given the current strength of the Australian dollar and a lack of sales taxes on overseas websites - although the survey also showed that canny shoppers could still do well by hunting out local bargains.
In both Australia and New Zealand, major retailers are particularly concerned about competition from Amazon, expecially now that it has launched its own tablet computer. The Kindle Fire is not likely to go on sale in New Zealand any time soon, but is still widely seen as Amazon's attempt to steer even more consumers to its own online store.
As noted in The Economist two weeks ago, a recent study by US investment bank William Blair underlined that Amazon is not just walloping foreign retailers, but American retailers as well, due to the fact that its overheads are so low, and its profit margin is a tiny 3 to 4 per cent.
The study took 100 randomly selected goods from 24 American retailers, and found that nearly half were also available on Amazon. On average, Amazon prices were 11 per cent lower than in the stores, and in many cases were much cheaper than on the retailers' own websites - a difference that could not be solely attributed to the fact that very few US states require Amazon to collect sales taxes.
For some months now, Amazon has also been offering free delivery to Australia and New Zealand on books, music and movies - a move some expect might not last, now that it has bought fierce rival The Book Depository, which pioneered free worldwide delivery.
Although some brands restrict US prices to US residents, this can easily be bypassed by using the plethora of parcel-forwarding services that have sprung up in the US to cater for foreign bargain-hunters.
In New Zealand, Consumer has highlighted the dangers of buying foreign goods which in many cases do not come with any sort of after-sales service or warranty. It has also warned of the dangers of buying electrical goods that are not safe to operate in this country. But in other highly tradeable categories such as books, music and clothing, savvy shoppers can often make big savings by buying online.
For those who are unwilling to take their chances with foreign purchases, or pay hefty delivery fees, there are several local price comparison sites that are worth visiting. Examples include pricespy.co.nz and priceme.co.nz.
