Spending heating up in the Christmas count down

Spending heating up in the Christmas count down

Following a slight lift in national spending in November, Paymark figures released today reveal spending has steadily been lifting towards the pre-Christmas rush.

Paymark, which processes around three quarters of all electronic transactions in New Zealand, saw just over $1 billion pass through its network in the seven days between the 6th and 12th of December.

Furthermore, spending in the seven days was up 4.1 per cent on the same dates in 2011, a higher than average annual growth rate for the year. The busiest shopping day so far this month was Friday 7 December, with just over $164 million through the tills.

Paymark Head of Sales and Marketing, Paul Whiston says, the upward bias in growth comes at a good time for retailers.

“Preparations for the busiest week of the year are in full swing, and retailers will be looking to past trends as an indication of what’s to come. Based on historical data, we can expect spending through the Paymark network to rise another 33 per cent by the week ending the 24th of December.”

Wairarapa (7.0%) experienced the strongest year-on-year growth during the week ending 12 December, South Canterbury (6.2%) and Canterbury (6.0%) continued the post-earthquake recovery and the heavily populated Auckland/Northland region (4.1%) was again above the national average.

Spending growth was high at hardware and building supplies outlets (8.0%), appliance stores (12.7%) and floor covering and furniture retailers (26.0%) – all outlets loosely tied to the housing market. Conversely spending was slightly below year-ago levels amongst the clothing, apparel and jewellery sectors.

“It would also appear that Christmas celebrations are going well this year, judging by the spending lift at eating and drinking establishments across the country,” adds Whiston.

Spending for the week was up 7.0 per cent amongst restaurants, cafes and bars, and up 9.3 per cent amongst liquor retailers.

PAYMARK Regional Data 6-12 Dec 2012 versus 6-12 December 2011
Value of spending ($millions)
Region Last Year Current Year Annual Change Value Difference
Auckland/Northland $406.1 $422.9 $16.8 4.1%
Waikato $73.1 $76.4 $3.3 4.4%
BOP $64.6 $66.6 $2.0 3.1%
Gisborne $8.7 $9.0 $0.3 3.9%
Taranaki/Taupo $23.0 $23.8 $0.8 3.6%
Hawkes Bay $27.9 $29.2 $1.3 4.6%
Wanganui $10.1 $10.1 $0.0 0.1%
Palmerston North $32.4 $33.3 $0.9 2.7%
Wairarapa $9.1 $9.7 $0.6 7.0%
Wellington $102.9 $105.8 $2.9 2.8%
Nelson $20.1 $20.5 $0.4 1.8%
Marlborough $11.4 $11.8 $0.4 3.5%
West Coast $7.6 $7.6 ($0.0) -0.3%
Canterbury $113.4 $120.3 $6.8 6.0%
South Canterbury $17.5 $18.6 $1.1 6.2%
Otago $51.3 $54.1 $2.8 5.5%
Southland $25.1 $25.6 $0.5 2.0%
New Zealand $1,004.4 $1,045.2 $40.9 4.1%

PAYMARK Regional Data 6-12 Dec 2012 versus 6-12 December 2011
Value of spending ($millions)
Region Last Year Current Year Annual Change Value Difference
Automotive excluding Fuel $27.4 $29.1 $1.7 6.3%
Bookshop/Video $16.6 $16.9 $0.3 2.0%
Clothing, Apparel & Jewellery $67.4 $67.2 ($0.1) -0.2%
Accommodation $19.3 $19.2 ($0.2) -0.8%
Restaurants, bars, cafes $76.0 $81.4 $5.3 7.0%
Liquor Retailing $18.9 $20.7 $1.8 9.3%
Phamacy / Health / Beauty $69.9 $73.6 $3.7 5.3%
Domestic Appliance & Whiteware Stores $15.2 $17.2 $1.9 12.7%
Electronic/Computer/Phones $10.4 $10.1 ($0.3) -2.8%
Sporting and Camping Equipment/Cycles $13.8 $13.8 $0.0 0.1%
Floor Covering & Furniture $10.7 $13.5 $2.8 26.0%
Gardening Stores $5.1 $5.4 $0.3 5.3%
Hardware / Building Supplies $45.9 $49.6 $3.7 8.0%
Department $72.4 $77.0 $4.6 6.4%
Food retail / wholesale $235.9 $244.2 $8.2 3.5%
Food takeaway $26.0 $27.8 $1.7 6.6%
Transport / Travel $38.0 $34.7 ($3.3) -8.7%
NZ (including others not itemised) $1,004.4 $1,045.2 $40.9 4.1%

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ENDS

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