Ms Cowlishaw said Rotorua people were more inclined to shop at the store, however they would first research the products they were looking for online.
Nationwide, total online retail spending in October was up 9.3 per cent compared to October last year. Growth in purchases from overseas slowed down in October, while domestic merchants gained market share.
Rotorua Chamber of Commerce chief executive Darrin Walsh said online shopping was dependent on a number of factors but he encouraged people to "support local and buy local".
"It depends on the product. At the moment people have a bit more money to spend with the economy doing slightly better.
"But you can go online and find things that are not available around town. Sometimes people also find online shopping more convenient, like grocery shopping," he said.
"We are hearing in Rotorua that the retail spend is up, so they are spending locally. At the chamber we say support local, buy local, as this benefits everyone."
Caroline Beattie of Marketview said a number of factors, including the low New Zealand dollar, could affect online spending.
She said it would be interesting to see what effect the increase in international retailers would have on online spending.
She said November tended to be the bigger month for online spending than October as it came closer to Christmas.
According to BNZ's monthly update, sales for computers and electronic goods were up about 5 per cent this October on last.
Online clothing spending was up 17 per cent and spending on newspapers and books was up 21 per cent.
Online entertainment media spending was up 26 per cent and pharmaceutical and cosmetic goods up 35 per cent.
Growth in online spending on groceries and at department stores was also strong, according to the update.
Rotorua online spending
* Up 13.6 per cent this October, compared with last October
* Domestic online spending up 12.5 per cent
* International online spending up 15 per cent
