2025 .nz consumers and businesses research

The 2025 .nz consumers and businesses research survey reflects shifts in our digital lives, such as greater use of AI and a retreat from social media – but also some missed opportunities for businesses.

This research focuses on the connections between New Zealand consumers and businesses through various online channels, as well as their awareness, perceptions, and use of domain names.

Key findings in 2025

.nz remains the domain of choice for New Zealand businesses: 7 out of 10 businesses with websites use a .nz domain name.
Both businesses and consumers see .nz as a more trustworthy domain than other domains (such as .com) – 74% of businesses agree it is more trustworthy, up 16 percentage points from 2020.
Nearly half of businesses (47%) don’t have a website.
Just four in 10 sole traders have a website.
The main reason given for businesses not having a website was that they feel the nature or size of their business doesn’t necessitate it.
But consumers see websites as the most important tool for engaging with businesses – nearly three-quarters of individuals said it was the most important tool, far more than said social media or email.
Businesses are also underestimating a website’s use for generating sales. Half of consumers see a website’s main purpose as a means to buy products, but just over a third of businesses see it this way.
Businesses have, however, increased their social media engagement as a means for connecting with consumers.
Consumers though, are reducing their use of online channels – including social media, email and search engines.
The survey asked for the first time about the use of AI. Businesses are now using AI in a range of ways – from generating social media content to helping them set up websites or using AI bots to engage with their customers.
Four in 10 consumers expect an AI chatbot to provide them with the information they need.
There are some generational differences: 16% of Gen Z respondents said they use AI chatbots, but just 3% of Boomers.

To see more detail and other findings, please see the summary report here [PDF, 228KB].

A Word document version of the report can be found here [.docx, 3MB].

About the research

The research was carried out by Yabble, on behalf of InternetNZ. Responses were collected using an online survey between July 31 and 21 August. There were responses from 750 NZ businesses of different sizes from different locations and 500 consumers, nationally representative by age, gender, ethnicity and location. The results have a +/- margin of error of 3.6% and 4.4% respectively.