Not sometimes. Not as a backup. As their primary device. The Digital 2025: New Zealand report shows we’re a mobile-first nation, spending over 6 hours online every day, streaming videos, shopping, banking, and searching for businesses.
Nearly the entire country (95%) is now online, and expectations have never been higher. Slow websites, clunky checkout processes, or anything that doesn’t work seamlessly on mobile? People just leave.
If you’re not built for mobile, you’re invisible.
With 4.94 million people online, New Zealand has hit near-universal internet access. But it’s not just about being connected. It’s about how we connect.
Smartphones dominate, but 83% of users still rely on laptops or desktops for certain tasks. Smart TVs account for 40% of connections, driven largely by streaming habits. People switch between devices depending on what they’re doing, and your online presence needs to work across all of them.
Google owns over 90% of the search market, and Chrome is the browser of choice for most Kiwis, followed by Safari. If your site doesn’t perform well in Chrome or doesn’t show up in Google search results, you’re missing the vast majority of potential visitors. SEO isn’t optional anymore.
High-speed fibre and 5G networks have raised the bar. Faster connections mean people expect instant load times and smooth experiences. If your website lags or stutters, users won’t wait around. They’ll find a competitor who got it right.
Music streaming pulls in 41% of users each week, and podcasts reach nearly one in three people. Short-form video has exploded in popularity, changing how people discover information and how brands need to communicate.
But it’s not all entertainment. 74% of users go online to search for information, and 70% look up how-to guides or tutorials. People are teaching themselves everything from cooking to car repairs through video content, blogs, and social platforms. Online news consumption remains steady too, with most Kiwis relying on websites, search engines, and social channels to stay informed.
Whether people are looking to learn, be entertained, or stay informed, video is what they expect. If your business isn’t creating video content or showing up where people watch, you’re missing out.
4.55 million New Zealanders are active on social media. That’s 88% of the total population, spending just over 2 hours a day scrolling, watching, and engaging. Social media isn’t just for staying in touch with friends anymore. It’s where people discover brands, research products, and decide who gets their business.
Women make up 52% of users, men 48%, and nearly everyone (98%) accesses social platforms through mobile apps rather than desktop browsers. If your social media content doesn’t look good on a phone screen, it might as well not exist.
Facebook remains strong at 3.4 million users (74% reach), and it’s still growing. Despite predictions of its decline, Facebook added 100,000 users in New Zealand over the past year. It’s particularly strong with adults over 18, reaching 83% of that demographic.
Instagram sits at 2.5 million users (58% reach), holding steady as the platform for visual storytelling. LinkedIn has hit 3.1 million users, which is 59% of the entire population. That’s huge for B2B businesses or anyone targeting professionals.
TikTok has 1.89 million users aged 18+ (49% reach). Short-form video content on TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels has fundamentally changed how people consume information. If your marketing still relies on static posts and long captions, you’re already behind. Video is no longer optional.
Other platforms worth noting: Snapchat reaches 1.54 million users (particularly strong with younger demographics), X (formerly Twitter) has 933,000 users, and Pinterest sits at 1.02 million users with a heavily female-skewed audience (73% women).
Messaging apps have become central to how New Zealanders communicate online. Messenger alone reaches 2.9 million users (71% of adults aged 18+). WhatsApp and Snapchat are also heavily used, with people shifting toward private and small-group conversations rather than public posting.
This shift matters. People aren’t just scrolling through feeds anymore. They’re having conversations in private channels, coordinating plans, and even shopping through messaging apps. Brands that can meet customers where they actually communicate (through direct messaging, chatbots, and responsive social customer service) have a significant advantage over those still treating social media as a one-way broadcast channel.
There are 6.57 million mobile connections in New Zealand. That’s 127% of the population, which means most people are juggling multiple devices: a smartphone, tablet, smartwatch, or work phone. Your website needs to work flawlessly across all of them.
94% of internet users browse on mobile, and 98% of those connections run on broadband speeds (3G, 4G, or 5G). The expansion of 5G has raised the bar for what people expect. Faster speeds mean zero tolerance for slow-loading sites or clunky interfaces.
Android accounts for 56% of mobile web traffic in New Zealand, with Apple’s iOS at 43%. That near-even split means you can’t optimize for just one platform. If your site breaks on Safari or doesn’t display properly on Android devices, you’re losing almost half your potential audience.
Mobile is how people shop, search, and decide who gets their business.
Kiwis are comfortable managing money online. 74% use internet banking, 72% pay bills digitally, and 19% use buy now, pay later services. Mobile payments through Apple Pay, Google Pay, and even smartwatches are becoming the norm, not the exception.
In 2024, New Zealanders spent USD 6.8 billion online, with the average consumer dropping USD 1,360 throughout the year. Fashion and electronics lead the pack, followed by household goods, toys, hobbies, and personal care products. Mobile accounts for more than half of all online purchases. If your checkout process doesn’t work seamlessly on a phone, you’re leaving money on the table.
Fast load times, secure payment options, and a checkout process that doesn’t require a PhD to complete. Businesses that nail these basics win. Those that don’t lose customers before they even hit the payment button.
Mobile will become even more dominant as 5G coverage expands and devices get faster. Video content will remain the primary way people consume information, whether for entertainment, learning, or researching products.
Businesses that haven’t prioritized mobile-friendly websites, fast load times, and video content will find themselves increasingly invisible to potential customers. The gap between companies with strong digital presence and those without will only widen.
Customers are online, their expectations are high, and they have endless options. The businesses that invest in getting their digital presence right now will be the ones still competing when everyone else catches up.
Your customers are on their phones right now, searching for businesses like yours. If your website is slow, hard to navigate, or doesn’t show up in Google search results, they’re finding your competitors instead.
At Energise Web, we help New Zealand businesses build websites that actually work on mobile, run Google Ads campaigns that get results, and create digital marketing strategies that turn visitors into customers. Whether you need a complete website rebuild, better search visibility, or ongoing support to stay ahead, we know what it takes to succeed online in 2025.
Ready to strengthen your online presence? Contact us today to get started.
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