The big $60b shopping spree
Kiwi shoppers spent a record $60 billion last year, according to Paymark. But that’s expected to leap to almost $90b when Statistics New Zealand releases figures on last quarter’s spending.
In the nine months to September 30, total retail spending – not including spending on foreign websites – was $64.7b. In 2016, that figure was about $83b.
Retail NZ general manager Greg Harford said he expects total spending for 2017 to hit somewhere between $84b and $85b.
Westfield Manukau centre manager Paul Gardner said shoppers had their eyes on electronics.
‘‘Electronics were an absolute standout. It’s broader than televisions – it’s about devices and connectivity. The big winners are going to be any of the giants who play in that space – Harvey Norman, Noel Leeming, JB Hi-Fi.
‘‘Noel Leeming did a national 7.30am start on Boxing Day – it’s getting earlier and earlier. To have people standing outside our doors at 7am in the morning to buy technology indicates there’s a drive that’s quite different to two years ago.
‘‘There’s seduction in technology and we’re susceptible to that.’’
In December alone, national spending reached $5.94b with the majority put on credit cards.
Growth in Marlborough hit $77.8m, which includes Kaikoura. West Coast shoppers spent $41.4m, Wairarapa $54.9m, and Gisborne $53.7m.
Harford said smaller centres had ‘‘a significant increase in consumer spending compared to last year’’.
But spending in the major centres slowed down. Annual underlying growth in Auckland was just 3.3 per cent, 4 per cent in Wellington and Canterbury.
Harford said this was because many people from the cities were away in the provinces over the Christmas break.
The annual spending growth rate of 4.9 per cent was below the year’s average, in part due to December this year having five Sundays. Paymark spokesman Paul Brislen said: ‘‘This means spending was spread out over an extra few days so the average was lower, hence the slight dip in the monthly figures over a month with four Sundays.’’
On the Friday before Christmas this year, shoppers around the country spent almost $300m – more than double what they spent on Boxing Day.
Brislen said Boxing Day bargainhunters were buying big-ticket items. Year-on-year growth for Boxing Day spending was remarkable, he said. It proved that brick and mortar retail stores had not yet been written off by online shopping.