Newmarket rides Christmas spending wave

Wednesday 19 December 2012

For Immediate release

Newmarket rides Christmas spending wave

Cash registers in the Auckland shopping precinct of Newmarket are ringing out loud in the build up to one of the biggest spending weekends of the year.

With just five more shopping days left until Santa's arrival Auckland's second largest retail centre is humming with activity as pre-Christmas spending picks up.

While accurate spending figures are yet to be released, Ashley Church, Chief Executive of the Newmarket Business Association expects the 2012 Christmas spend to be significantly up on last year and believes that this bodes well for retail spending in general.

"Newmarket is the perfect barometer for retail spending in New Zealand because of its complimentary mix of high-end fashion, cafes and restaurants, and major retail outlets."

Despite the ongoing effects of the global financial crisis, retail sales in Newmarket have grown by 6.5 per cent over the past year and the average transaction value has risen to almost $70, well ahead of Sylvia Park ($50), Ponsonby ($49) and the CBD ($47).

"Despite New Zealander's love of malls, Newmarket still holds a clear preference for shoppers as a quality retail destination and consistently outperforms Auckland's other major retail precincts. I expect the Christmas/New year period to produce the same result"

Newmarket's future is looking even brighter with new plans by the New Zealand Transport Authority, Equinox and Westfield to expand the area's retail footprint.

Westfield has proposed a major new four-level retail development on the historic Dominion Motors/Levene Extreme/Farmers site which borders Mortimer Pass and Broadway, while NZTA has unveiled a draft master plan for a mix of commercial and office space, active retail frontages, car parking buildings and multi-functional open space under the flyover.

Mr Church says "There is a pattern of growth taking place over a variety of different and quite important economic indicators that one would assume will translate into prosperity for Newmarket."

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