--- title: "Smiggle vs Whitcoulls: Which is searched more in New Zealand?" description: "Is Smiggle or Whitcoulls more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Gift and stationery stores set in New Zealand. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/smiggle-vs-whitcoulls" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Smiggle vs Whitcoulls: Which is searched more in New Zealand? Is Smiggle or Whitcoulls more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Gift and stationery stores set in New Zealand. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: Smiggle and Whitcoulls - **Competitive set**: Gift and stationery stores - **Market**: New Zealand - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Smiggle Share of Search**: 12.4% - **Whitcoulls Share of Search**: 49% ## Is Smiggle or Whitcoulls more popular in search? - In September 2026, Whitcoulls had more branded searches than Smiggle among gift and stationery stores in New Zealand. Whitcoulls had about 72,500 branded searches, while Smiggle had 18,400. Whitcoulls made up 49% of all gift and stationery store searches we track, and Smiggle accounted for 12.4%. - Whitcoulls was ahead of Smiggle in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Smiggle’s share of searches among gift and stationery stores in New Zealand moved from 11.3% to 12.4%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 18K to 18.4K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Whitcoulls’ share of searches among gift and stationery stores in New Zealand moved from 52.6% to 49%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 83.5K to 72.5K. ## Top gift and stationery stores in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions, Whitcoulls appeared in all three answers. Smiggle was mentioned in one out of three: in one of the three ChatGPT answers. Whitcoulls was listed before Smiggle in every answer. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Whitcoulls | 1st | 3 of 3 | 3 of 3 | | Passion for Paper | 1st | 2 of 3 | 2 of 3 | | Typo | 3rd | 2 of 3 | 2 of 3 | | Smiggle | 4th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 3 | | Paper Plus | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 3 | | kikki.K | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 3 | ## Every AI answer about gift and stationery stores - Asked ChatGPT "Which gift and stationery store should I shop at in New Zealand?": 1. Passion for Paper, 2. Whitcoulls, 3. Typo - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best gift and stationery stores in New Zealand?": 1. Passion for Paper, 2. Typo, 3. Whitcoulls - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best gift and stationery store in New Zealand for school supplies?": 1. Whitcoulls, 2. Smiggle Not named in any answer: Paper Plus and kikki.K. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in New Zealand on October 19, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for New Zealand gift and stationery stores in September 2026? - In September 2026, Whitcoulls lost share of searches among gift and stationery stores in New Zealand, from 51.6% to 49%. - In September 2026, Smiggle lost share of searches among gift and stationery stores in New Zealand, from 13.6% to 12.4%. ## Month by month | Month | Smiggle estimated searches | Smiggle Share of Search | Smiggle rank | Whitcoulls estimated searches | Whitcoulls Share of Search | Whitcoulls rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 18K | 11.3% | 3 | 83.5K | 52.6% | 1 | | Nov 2025 | 31.7K | 15.6% | 3 | 102K | 50.2% | 1 | | Dec 2025 | 27K | 9.5% | 3 | 154K | 54.1% | 1 | | Jan 2026 | 29K | 14.3% | 3 | 87.2K | 42.9% | 1 | | Feb 2026 | 15.7K | 10.7% | 3 | 72.6K | 49.7% | 1 | | Mar 2026 | 15.2K | 10.7% | 3 | 70.8K | 49.7% | 1 | | Apr 2026 | 14.9K | 11.2% | 3 | 71K | 53.2% | 1 | | May 2026 | 15.2K | 11.3% | 3 | 71.9K | 53.4% | 1 | | Jun 2026 | 15.2K | 11.5% | 3 | 70.3K | 53% | 1 | | Jul 2026 | 18.2K | 13.4% | 3 | 70K | 51.6% | 1 | | Aug 2026 | 18.8K | 13.6% | 3 | 71.3K | 51.6% | 1 | | Sep 2026 | 18.4K | 12.4% | 3 | 72.5K | 49% | 1 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Smiggle’s and Whitcoulls’ names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **Smiggle**: Measured on the search terms “bottle smiggle”, “smiggle”, “smiggle backpack”, “smiggle bags”, “smiggle book bag”, “smiggle henderson”, “smiggle lunch bag”, “smiggle notebooks”, “smiggle pencil box”, “smiggle pens”, “smiggle queensgate”, “smiggle sale” and “smiggle water bottle”, summed into one figure. - **Whitcoulls**: Measured on the search terms “Whitcoulls”, “whitcoulls botany”, “whitcoulls centreplace”, “whitcoulls cuba”, “whitcoulls cuba st”, “whitcoulls lambton”, “whitcoulls lambton quay”, “whitcoulls north west”, “whitcoulls northlands”, “whitcoulls palms”, “whitcoulls queensgate”, “whitcoulls sale”, “whitcoulls shirley”, “whitcoulls south city”, “whitcoulls st lukes”, “whitcoulls sylvia park”, “whitcoulls the base” and “whitcoulls voucher”, summed into one figure. - [Smiggle profile](/demand/nz/brands/smiggle) - [Whitcoulls profile](/demand/nz/brands/whitcoulls) - [All gift and stationery stores in New Zealand](/demand/nz/categories/nz-gift-and-stationery-stores): The set both shares are measured inside, 6 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Smiggle or Whitcoulls more popular in search? In September 2026, Whitcoulls had more branded searches than Smiggle among gift and stationery stores in New Zealand. Whitcoulls had about 72,500 branded searches, while Smiggle had 18,400. Whitcoulls made up 49% of all gift and stationery store searches we track, and Smiggle accounted for 12.4%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Smiggle vs Whitcoulls: Which is searched more in New Zealand?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/smiggle-vs-whitcoulls This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/smiggle-vs-whitcoulls. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.