Retailing in New Zealand

Retailing in New Zealand is an important sector in the economy of New Zealand, as a channel for a large proportion of household spending and international visitor spending.

The overall size of the sector has been increasing since the end of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, with retail sales increasing by 30% between 1999 and 2005. One contributing factor was the growth of larger stores with greater buying power and economies of scale, at the cost of smaller bricks and mortar merchants. Another contributing factor was low price inflation, with the price of imported goods falling 12% during that period.

By 2004, about 15% of New Zealand businesses were retail outlets. These businesses accounted for 19% of total employment and 7.5% of the Gross Domestic Product with total sales of about $51 billion. Supermarket and grocery stores made up about 28% of non-auto sales and 16% of retail employees.

The beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand had a major impact on the retail sector. Sales dropped 15% in the June 2020 quarter before increasing 7.4% in the September 2020 quarter. The sector recovered faster than originally expected.

In 2021, BDO identified the key trends in the New Zealand retail sector to be rising staffing costs, increased online shopping, changing technology, and the need to improve efficiency without compromising customer experience.

Sales values in the sector increased from $8.3531 billion in 2000 to $22.5867 billion in 2021. The number of businesses increased from 2,679 to 3,525. The number of employees increased from 46,700 to 62,600.

Sales values in the sector increased from $3,575.4 million in 2000 to $9,754 million in 2021. The number of businesses declined from 1,542 to 1,401. The number of employees increased from 13,000 to 23,800.

New Zealand has several petrol station chains and franchises which supply fuel for cars, motorbikes, trucks and boats.