Alcohol spend up nearly 500 pc

New Zealand’s retail spending has halved in alert level 4 but spending on food and alcohol has spiked, especially on the eve of lockdown, with booze sales nationwide skyrocketing nearly 500 per cent.

Dot Loves Data director Justin Lester said its analysis of Eftpos NZ spending data showed on Tuesday last week, the eve of lockdown, nationwide liquor sales increased 473 per cent on the previous Tuesday.

In Palmerston North alcohol sales increased by 716 per cent, the highest of anywhere in the country, he said.

Spending on betting products such as the TAB and Lotto also jumped by 65 per cent, while spending at bars increased 28 per cent and restaurants jumped 11 per cent.

Once lockdown started Aucklanders were spending up large at supermarkets with the average transaction value almost doubling, being up by 90.5 per cent. ‘‘They did shop less often however, with the total number of transactions dropping by 30 per cent, indicating Aucklanders were acknowledging social distancing requirements and only heading out when they needed to.’’

Total spending at supermarkets was up 30 per cent from Wednesday to Sunday, compared with the week prior.

Independent economist Benje Patterson said card spending data, provided by Marketview, showed retail spending roughly halved to $260 million over the first four days of lockdown.

Retail spending was $516m during the same period the week prior to lockdown.

During the first four days of lockdown, 86 per cent of total spending was at supermarkets and pharmacies, with most of the rest spent at petrol stations, he said. Supermarket spending during the first four days of lockdown rose 12 per cent compared with pre-lockdown, as people stocked up on supplies, he said.

People would also be splashing out on more extravagant food and treats at the supermarket because they were not able to spend it on hospitality, he said.

The 12 per cent increase was not as significant as the increase seen during the first lockdown in 2020, he said.

The hospitality and accommodation sectors had been hit hardest, with those businesses missing $92m of spend over the first four days of lockdown alone, he said.

Home and recreational retail spending fell by $59m, petrol stations had $54m fewer sales, and clothing retailers experienced a $20m decline, he said.

If those trends continued then retailers stood to have potentially lost $600m by the time the nationwide lockdown ended on Friday, he said