New Zealand online sales surged 15 per cent in May according to data from the BNZ bank.

Year-on-year sales in brick-and-mortar stores rose by a more modest 3.6 per cent, based on data from Statistics New Zealand, which excludes hospitality spending.

Gary Baker, director for Institutional Research, BNZ, said in comparing May 2016 to May last year, food, clothing and department stores contributed more than half of the increase in online sales at local merchants.

“Online purchases by Kiwis from offshore sites also turned in double digit-growth, up 13 per cent on last May, albeit not quite as strong as in recent months,” Baker said.

Computer products, electrical goods, clothing and entertainment media were responsible for three-quarters of the increase in online sales at offshore sites, the report said.