New Zealand
E-commerce development for New Zealand retailers
We build Adobe Commerce and Shopify for New Zealand businesses, and we have the delivered work to point at rather than a claim about coverage: Aelia Duty Free runs on Adobe Commerce across Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin and Queenstown airports — and Adelaide, Avalon and Cairns in Australia — built and supported by our commerce team. That is trans-Tasman commerce in production — two tax regimes, two freight networks, one inventory truth — rather than a capability described in a brochure. Our office is in Sydney, not Auckland, and we would rather say that plainly than list an address we do not sit in.
What New Zealand commerce actually asks for
Freight that does not quietly lose money
This is the difference that catches Australian-built stores. A flat national shipping rate is workable across most of Australia; in New Zealand it collides with rural delivery surcharges and the inter-island split, and the loss shows up per order rather than as a visible failure. Getting shipping right means zone logic that reflects what carriers actually charge, and a rules layer that can carry exceptions without a developer editing code every time a carrier changes a surcharge.
GST at 15%, applied to nearly everything
New Zealand GST is usually simpler than Australian GST, not harder — there are none of the GST-free food carve-outs that make Australian catalogue tax logic fiddly. Where it gets interesting is selling into both markets from one store, and low-value imported goods rules on either side of the Tasman. Both Adobe Commerce and Shopify can model this natively; the work is in configuring it against your actual product mix rather than accepting defaults.
Selling across the Tasman from one store
Most New Zealand retailers of any scale are also selling into Australia, or intend to. That is a multi-currency and multi-tax configuration far more often than it is a second store, and it is a problem we run in production rather than one we have read about — the Aelia platform is one multi-website Adobe Commerce install spanning seven airport stores, two countries, two domains and two tax regimes. We would push back hard on duplicating a storefront to change a currency symbol and a shipping table: you have doubled the maintenance and gained nothing. Separate stores earn their cost when catalogues genuinely diverge or different teams merchandise each market, which is the reasoning we set out in selling into both markets from one store.
Inventory that is true across locations
The airport work is the sharp version of this problem: stock in multiple physical locations, sold through a storefront, reconciled against an ERP. Aelia integrates with SAP. Most retailers are not running airport concessions, but the underlying requirement is identical — if your website and your inventory system disagree, everything downstream of that is guesswork. This is usually product information and integration work rather than storefront work.
Adobe Commerce where the catalogue earns it
Adobe Commerce is the right answer for large catalogues, genuinely complex pricing, or B2B running alongside retail. It is the wrong answer for a straightforward retail catalogue, where it costs more to run and takes longer to change for no return. We say the same thing on our Magento to Shopify page, which exists because the move is often correct.
Support that accounts for two hours, not twelve
New Zealand is two hours ahead of Sydney, so the working days overlap almost entirely. That is a materially better support arrangement than an agency in London or California can offer, and it is the practical reason a Sydney team is a reasonable choice for a New Zealand store. Support runs with a named contact and agreed response times for production issues — see how we engage.
When we would tell you not to hire us
Three situations where a Sydney team is the wrong call for a New Zealand build, and we would say so early rather than late.
You need people in the room, weekly
Some programmes genuinely need co-located workshops — a large replatform with a dozen internal stakeholders and contested requirements is one. If that is your project, an Auckland or Wellington team will serve you better than we will, and we would rather tell you at the first call than three months in.
The work is a small storefront on a standard theme
If you need a modest Shopify store on a well-supported theme, you do not need a commerce team of our size and you should not pay for one. That is a local freelancer or a small studio, and the result will be better for it. Our work starts being worth its cost when there is integration, migration or something already broken.
The real problem is upstream of the website
If inventory disagrees between systems, or product data is inconsistent across channels, a new storefront inherits all of it. That is ERP and data work first. A replatform will not clean your catalogue, and any agency implying otherwise is selling you a rebuild you will have to do twice.
The proof
Work we have shipped, not a capability deck.
- Aelia Duty FreeAdobe Commerce across Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin and Queenstown, plus three Australian airports — duty and tax rules, live inventory across locations, and SAP integration. The New Zealand commerce reference on this page.Read the case study
- LOOPAn ethical e-gift card marketplace on Shopify, including the plugin giving partner brands real-time sales and redemption tracking.Read the case study
- MUK HaircareRetail e-commerce and a product finder for a haircare brand selling across Australia and New Zealand.Read the case study
Commerce work we do
Magento & Adobe Commerce
Builds, replatforms, upgrades and performance rescue — including SAP integration.
Magento upgrades
Version upgrades and extension audits — and when the platform is not what needs the money.
Shopify & Shopify Plus
Storefronts, theme builds, app integration and headless front ends.
Shopify Plus
Checkout extensibility, B2B and D2C together, multi-storefront — and when the tier is not worth it.
E-commerce development
The whole practice: platform selection, build, integrate and run.
Headless commerce
Decoupled storefronts on Shopify and Adobe Commerce — and when a themed build is the better call.
Migration & replatforming
Moving between platforms without losing data, rankings or trading days.
Magento to Shopify
The specific route, and an honest view of when not to take it.
WooCommerce
WordPress commerce where the catalogue and the content live together.
E-commerce & retail
The sector view — what retail platforms are actually asked to do, and where they break.
B2B & wholesale commerce
Company accounts, contract pricing, quotes, credit terms and ERP-held price logic for trade suppliers.
Adelaide commerce
Adobe Commerce for South Australian retailers — including the duty free store trading at Adelaide Airport.
More on commerce
Two Thirds of Australian Retail's Page Weight Isn't Theirs
We measured 21 of Australia's largest online retailers. None scored above 44. The median site ships 7MB, and 62% of it is third-party code the retailer didn't write.
What Does a Shopify Plus Build Cost in Australia?
What Shopify Plus actually costs Australian retailers — the platform fee, the transaction economics nobody models, and what drives a build quote up or down.
ERP Integration for E-commerce: What It Actually Costs
Why ERP integration is the line item that blows e-commerce budgets, the four questions that decide the price, and how to tell real-time requirements from imagined ones.
Adobe Commerce vs Shopify Plus for Australian Retailers
Where Adobe Commerce genuinely beats Shopify Plus, where it does not, and the three questions that actually decide it — from a team that builds on both.
Adobe Has Patched StyleSmuggler. Patching Is Not the Whole Job.
Adobe has released APSB26-146 for CVE-2026-75650. Apply it now — but a patch does not clean a store that was already compromised. What to preserve before you patch, what to check after, and the disclosure clock most coverage skips.
Selling Into Australia and New Zealand From One Store
Whether to run one store or two across the Tasman, what actually differs between AU and NZ commerce — GST, freight, currency — and the duplication that costs more than it solves.
Ecommerce practice lead
Maxim Baibakov — Chief Technology Officer - Australia
Adobe Commerce and Shopify work here runs through a dedicated commerce team rather than being picked up by whoever is free.
Common questions
Do you have an office in Auckland?
No. Our office is in Sydney and we are direct about that rather than listing a virtual address in Auckland the way several agencies bidding for the same work do. What we do have is delivered New Zealand commerce: Aelia Duty Free runs Adobe Commerce across New Zealand’s major airports, built and supported by us. Delivery has been remote-first for years, and the two-hour time difference is the smallest coordination problem on any project — a Sydney and Auckland working day overlap almost entirely.
What actually differs building for New Zealand rather than Australia?
Less than vendors imply, but the differences are real and they are mostly tax and freight. GST is 15% and applies to nearly everything, with none of the GST-free food carve-outs that complicate Australian catalogues — so the tax logic is usually simpler, not harder. Freight is the genuine difference: rural delivery surcharges and the North/South Island split mean a flat national shipping rate that works in Australia will quietly lose money in New Zealand. Then there is currency, if you are selling into both markets, and the Commerce Commission’s rules on pricing and promotions, which are not identical to the ACCC’s.
Can one store serve both Australia and New Zealand?
Usually yes, and usually it should. Both Adobe Commerce and Shopify handle multi-currency and per-market tax and shipping without a second build. The decision point is not technical, it is operational: separate stores make sense when the catalogues genuinely diverge, when you have different teams merchandising each market, or when local compliance obligations pull the two apart. If you are duplicating a store to change a shipping table and a currency symbol, you have doubled your maintenance for no benefit — we would tell you so.
Is Magento still the right platform for a New Zealand retailer?
It depends on catalogue complexity and how much of your commerce logic is genuinely non-standard, not on which country you sell into. Adobe Commerce earns its cost with large catalogues, complex pricing, or B2B alongside retail. For a straightforward retail catalogue Shopify will almost always be cheaper to run and faster to change, and we say so on our Magento to Shopify page rather than defending the more expensive platform because we work on it. What we would not do is recommend a replatform simply because Magento feels dated — that is the most expensive reason there is.
How do you handle support across the time difference?
New Zealand is two hours ahead of Sydney, which means the working days overlap almost completely — it is a materially easier support arrangement than an agency in the UK or the US can offer you. Support runs the same way it does for Australian clients: a named point of contact, a shared board you can see at any time, and agreed response times for production issues rather than best-effort. The airport retail work sets the bar here; a duty free storefront that is down at a departure gate is not a ticket that waits.
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Engagement models
How we work
Four straightforward ways to engage us. Pick the one that fits, or mix them as your needs change.
Staff Augmentation
Add experienced Shakewell developers, designers or specialists directly to your own team. Engagements typically run three to twelve months, but can be as short or long as you need — you get the skills without the commitment and cost of hiring full-time.
About staff augmentationFixed-Scope Projects
Have a defined outcome in mind? We scope it, price it and deliver it as a project — a clear timeline, agreed milestones and a single point of accountability from kickoff to handover.
Embedded Delivery Teams
For larger or longer-running work, a cross-functional Shakewell team — development, design and delivery management — plugs in as your delivery arm, working to your priorities and your reporting cadence.
Support & Maintenance
Already live? We keep websites, stores and apps secure, updated and performing through ongoing retainers — business-hours support as standard, with 24/7 coverage available for critical issues.
About support & maintenance