Kate Stewart: How online shopping hurts local retail

Two million New Zealanders are shopping online and last year they made 20.6 million purchases.

Although I didn't know it at the time, a stopover in Hawaii, en route to Los Angeles, was to later educate me on just how far behind New Zealand was compared to the rest of the world.

It was 1988 and while waiting to board my flight I watched a promotional stand being set up in the duty-free area for the launch of the new perfume, Fendi.

The scent was heavenly. I paid $40US for the largest bottle I could get my hands on.

When I got home about a month later my best friend also fell in love with this fine fragrance and was constantly asking if she could wear it while she awaited its eventual arrival in New Zealand.

That wait would stretch to almost two years by which time we were both going cold turkey without it and when it did finally arrive the price tag was absolutely horrendous.

Thankfully we've come a long way since then. The internet has enabled us to experience worldwide launches of products, services and events but are we still behind the eight ball when it comes to online shopping?

New Zealanders spent 4.7 billion dollars online last year and the figures show that our money is increasingly going to international retailers.

In August of this year alone, there was a 14% rise in offshore online shopping with customers citing price, value and range as their most common reasons for leaving the "local" market.

Yes, I know we should be supporting our own businesses first and buying New Zealand made products but in a world fraught with financial hardships and debt many people simply don't have the luxury of being able to afford what local businesses are charging.

The idea is great in principle but for those on a tight budget, it's also a pipedream.

Take clothes shopping for example. Back in the pre-web days, most fashion seekers could be found coveting the latest looks in the glossy pages of a magazine.

They would see what was already being worn in London, Paris and New York and have to wait months before the right season rolled around before such garments could adorn the racks of local retailers.

Nowadays, however, those with the money can go online and purchase the latest in trendy attire at the same time the fashion capitals of the world are experiencing them.

Wait two to three months, until the season is just about over or gone and you can shop til you drop at up to 90% off, have it delivered to your door and still be three months ahead of what's on offer nationally.

And this is where New Zealand is failing to be competitive as an online shopping option.

Retailers here are still thinking seasonally instead of globally. Bringing out summer looks in Summer and winter wears in Winter and expecting their shoppers to pay top dollar for what has been readily available to them internationally for 6 months.

The "latest looks" that their websites promote have already been snapped up in offshore online end of season sales for a fraction of the cost thanks to whopping discounts and voucher codes.

Two million New Zealanders are shopping online and last year they made 20.6 million purchases. If local retailers want to be competitive in the marketplace they need to adjust their thinking and maybe their profit margins. Tis the season to be global.

And just FYI, Fendi is still outrageously priced here.

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