Shift to internet buying boosts freighting firms

Bags of Pumpkin Patch goods are unloaded by DHL at Auckland Airport. Photo / Supplied

Growth in online shopping is a challenge for traditional retailers but it has resulted in boom times for the freight sector.

DHL Express has seen a 30 per cent rise in its inbound deliveries to New Zealand in the year to date, says Gary Edstein, the company's senior vice-president for Oceania.

The growth is primarily the result of the increasing popularity of foreign retail websites and most deliveries are coming from the United States and Europe, he says.

Edstein says unprecedented strength in the New Zealand and Australian dollars, which increases the buying power of Kiwi and Aussie consumers overseas, has helped drive growth in online shopping.

The freight company has been adding staff and vehicles to its New Zealand operation.

Edstein says growth in online sales by transtasman retailers such as Kathmandu and Pumpkin Patch is also providing a lot of business within Australasia for DHL Express.

Auckland-based Pumpkin Patch said last week that its online sales had risen 50 per cent in the six months to January 31.

Edstein says DHL Express does not support lowering Australia's low-value threshold on GST for overseas online purchases.

The company would like to see New Zealand's threshold increased to more than $400, he adds.