Card spending
Mastercard survey reveals Christmas spending stress
Five per cent of Kiwis won’t be buying Christmas presents this year, according to research commissioned by Mastercard. The credit card company found 35 per cent of Kiwis were feeling more financially stressed this Christmas, up from 31 per cent in 2016 and 27 per cent in 2015.
Fifteen per cent said they had more than 11 people to shop for this year, 45 per cent had up to five people to buy for and 5 per cent would not be buying gifts at all.
More than a quarter of Kiwis (27 per cent) planned to spend more than $200 per child — of any age — this Christmas and 15 per cent said the same for their partners.
The research found 35 per cent of Kiwis had been saving their money and 32 per cent had been buying presents throughout the year to spread the financial cost.
Men were more likely to spend more on their partners compared with women, with 17 per cent of men saying they will spend more than $200. against 11 per cent of women.
Spending on debit and credit cards shot up last month, beating expectations ahead of the most important season for retailers.
Retail card spending rose by 1.2 per cent last month, beating Westpac’s forecast of 0.8 per cent. The total was boosted by a 5 per cent rise in fuel spending, which was in line with the rise in petrol prices.
Spending in the core retail sectors rose by 0.8 per cent, led by a 1.2 per cent rise in durables and hospitality and a 2.7 per cent rise in clothing.
Spending rises had been consistently low all year and more than 50 per cent of retailers had not been hitting their sales targets, said Greg Harford of Retail NZ.
“All eyes are of course on Christmas because that’s traditionally the peak spending season for New Zealand, and that’s not just on Christmas presents but because it’s summer, we’re out and about doing stuff, buying things, and sorting the garden,” Harford said.
Last month’s 1.2 per cent increase was good news for the sector.
“We’ve been expecting spending to increase slightly,” he said.
“But there’s nothing to suggest to us that the fundamental mood of consumers is likely to change.”
Summer historically meant an increase in consumer spending, but Harford said he wasn’t holding his breath for a large increase.
“We’re operating in an environment now where 1 per cent increase in spending on an seasonally adjusted basis is typically being seen as a good thing,” he said.
“We’re in a low-spending, lowinflationary environment and consumers are still feeling squeezed.”