Paper Plus vs Whitcoullsamong office and stationery retailers
Twelve months of estimated branded-search demand and Share of Search for Paper Plus and Whitcoulls in New Zealand, read against each other inside the office and stationery retailers they both compete among.
In August 2026, Whitcoulls led Paper Plus among office and stationery retailers in New Zealand, with 21.4% estimated Share of Search against 14.5%.
- Paper Plus Share of Search
- 14.5%4th of 4 in the set
- Whitcoulls Share of Search
- 21.4%2nd of 4 in the set
- Gap
- 6.9 pointsWhitcoulls ahead of Paper Plus
- Estimated monthly branded searches
- 41.6K · 61.4KPaper Plus · Whitcoulls
Who is ahead, Paper Plus or Whitcoulls?
See how Paper Plus and Whitcoulls compare over the last 12 months.
Share of Search by month for Whitcoulls, Paper Plus. The figures are in the table below the chart.
View monthly share of search table
| Month | Warehouse Stationery | Whitcoulls | OfficeMax NZ | Paper Plus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 47% | 21.4% | 17.2% | 14.4% |
| Oct 2025 | 43.5% | 24.2% | 16% | 16.3% |
| Nov 2025 | 44.8% | 24.9% | 13.5% | 16.8% |
| Dec 2025 | 38% | 31.5% | 9.4% | 21.2% |
| Jan 2026 | 43.5% | 16.3% | 23.9% | 16.3% |
| Feb 2026 | 48.9% | 18.2% | 18% | 14.9% |
| Mar 2026 | 45.6% | 20.7% | 16.7% | 17% |
| Apr 2026 | 48.5% | 22% | 14.6% | 14.8% |
| May 2026 | 47% | 21.4% | 17.2% | 14.4% |
| Jun 2026 | 47% | 21.3% | 17.3% | 14.4% |
| Jul 2026 | 48.5% | 22% | 14.6% | 14.9% |
| Aug 2026 | 46.9% | 21.4% | 17.2% | 14.5% |
How has the Paper Plus and Whitcoulls comparison changed?
- Whitcoulls was ahead of Paper Plus in every measured month of the 12 months ending August 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending August 2026, Paper Plus’ estimated Share of Search among office and stationery retailers in New Zealand moved from 14.4% to 14.5%, and its estimated monthly branded searches from 41.4K to 41.6K.
- Across the 12 months ending August 2026, Whitcoulls’ estimated Share of Search among office and stationery retailers in New Zealand moved from 21.4% to 21.4%, and its estimated monthly branded searches from 61.5K to 61.4K.
What changed among office and stationery retailers in New Zealand?

In August 2026, OfficeMax NZ overtook Paper Plus to rank 3rd among office and stationery retailers in New Zealand, at 17.2%.

In August 2026, Whitcoulls lost estimated Share of Search among office and stationery retailers in New Zealand, from 22% to 21.4%.
How each brand is measured
Brandwave uses third-party search volume data to identify the unique branded terms for each brand and adds up their estimated monthly searches. Different spellings of the same term are grouped together and only counted once. Distinct branded searches, including longer or more specific terms, are counted separately and included in the brand’s monthly total.
Paper Plus
- Paper Plus
- paper plus books
- paper plus office supplies
- paper plus stationery
Whitcoulls
- Whitcoulls
- whitcoulls books
- whitcoulls office supplies
- whitcoulls stationery
How is branded search demand measured?
In August 2026, Whitcoulls led Paper Plus among office and stationery retailers in New Zealand, with 21.4% estimated Share of Search against 14.5%.
Brandwave organizes categories, branded terms, and competitor groups using publicly available information about companies and brands. We obtain third-party modeled search-volume estimates from external search-data providers, then store and keep them up to date. Our Brand Demand Index shares this curated information with everyone for free. The figures cover the 12 months ending Aug 2026.
We estimate branded-search demand in New Zealand for Paper Plus and Whitcoulls using modeled search-volume estimates for each brand’s name or related terms. This approach has limitations, but it provides a directional view of relative branded-search interest and how it changes over time.
No, Share of Search compares a brand’s estimated search volume with the estimated search volume of other brands in the same group. It measures searches for branded terms, not purchases, so it is not the same as market share, revenue share, or customer share. A brand might have a high Share of Search but still sell less than a competitor, and brands that people buy out of habit might be searched for less than brands people are still considering. Branded-search demand can provide an early signal that interest in a brand is changing. Watching for sustained shifts can help you spot trends sooner, but the metric does not establish what will happen to revenue.
These numbers are estimates and should be seen as a general trend, not an exact count. The figures show rounded monthly search volumes, and a single month’s result might change for reasons unrelated to the brand. Smaller brands are rounded more roughly than larger ones. Search volume estimates searches, not unique people. The real value of these figures is in comparison: every brand in the group is measured the same way, in the same market, and in the same month. This means the differences between brands, and how those differences change over time, are more meaningful than any single number.
Not always. It depends on what your campaign was meant to do. Our public marketing data shows when branded search demand changes, but it doesn’t tell you why. Branded search volume can rise or fall for many reasons. For example, a competitor’s campaign, a news story, a price change, the season, or more people shopping in your category can all play a part. Checking the timing of these changes can give you useful clues, so it helps to see what else was happening at the same time. Brandwave lets you track all your marketing activity and branded search volume together on one timeline, making this much easier.
Yes. Anyone may use, share, adapt, and redistribute data published in the Brandwave Brand Demand Index, including for commercial purposes, under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC BY 4.0). Give appropriate credit to Brandwave, link to the source page and https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, and indicate if you made changes. This permission covers Brandwave’s published compilation and measurements; it does not grant rights to third-party trademarks or logos. Automated access must use the public pages or API and respect published rate limits.
Not necessarily. Brandwave maintains these brand profiles using publicly available information and data sources. Brandwave never exposes private customer data publicly.

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