School holiday spending benefits Otago

School holiday spending benefits Otago

Auckland, 13 August 2014: Figures released today by the country’s leading payments provider show a marked increase in spending in the Otago region during the July school holidays.

Whilst spending traditionally increases during the school holidays, this year saw a regional increase of 9.4 per cent during the two week period, well above previous years.

Paymark’s Head of Customer Relations Mark Spicer says it’s likely that Aucklanders and Wellingtonians had a hand in the growth.

“During the same two weeks of trading when Otago experienced this significant jump, Auckland/Northland and Wellington saw a significant decrease in spending compared to previous years. While this doesn’t explain the entire picture it’s safe to assume that many North Islanders ventured south to Queenstown and scenic Otago.”

Ski fields, restaurants, cafes and accommodation providers all experienced growth. It wasn’t good news for all Otago retailers though, with a decrease in transactions in automotive part stores, dentists and gyms.

Spending through the Paymark network in July increased in clothing outlets, footwear stores, appliance outlets and department stores; most likely a result of the late onset of winter.

Total spending through the Paymark network during July was up 6.1 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Key statistics:
The number of monthly card transactions was 7.4 per cent higher than last July.
The Bay of Plenty and Southland also had a strong July with an increase of 6.7 per cent and 11 per cent respectively.
Credit card growth (including contactless cards) was up 15.8 per cent in July surpassing debit card growth of 4.9 per cent.
Sectors showing the highest annual growth were food and liquor stores up 11.6 per cent, followed by cafes and restaurants at 11.2 per cent and accommodation providers with a 9.7 per cent increase.
Hardware store annual growth was up 5.1 per cent but remained below the double-digit rate of previous months.
Regions that experienced weak trading during July included Wellington, down 2.7 per cent, Palmerston North with a decrease of 2.8 per cent and South Canterbury down -0.3 per cent.

PAYMARK Regional Data (July 2014 versus same month 2013)
Volume (million transactions) Value of spending ($millions)
Region Last Year Current Year Volume Difference Last Year Current Year Value Difference
Auckland/Northland 32.77 34.93 6.6% $1,639.5 $1,720.9 5.0%
Waikato 6.01 6.46 7.5% $287.0 $303.3 5.7%
BOP 5.06 5.49 8.4% $248.0 $264.7 6.7%
Gisborne 0.76 0.81 7.6% $34.4 $36.1 5.0%
Taranaki 1.95 2.06 5.8% $89.7 $93.2 3.9%
Hawke’s Bay 2.26 2.38 5.3% $107.2 $110.8 3.3%
Wanganui 0.95 1.00 5.2% $41.8 $43.3 3.6%
Palmerston North 2.58 2.73 5.8% $140.2 $144.1 2.8%
Wairarapa 0.75 0.80 7.6% $35.1 $36.9 5.2%
Wellington 8.95 9.41 5.2% $398.0 $408.8 2.7%
Nelson 1.48 1.57 5.9% $73.4 $76.0 3.6%
Marlborough 0.81 0.86 6.5% $40.3 $42.8 6.2%
West Coast 0.48 0.50 4.8% $25.8 $27.2 5.5%
Canterbury 9.29 10.00 7.6% $458.4 $487.9 6.4%
South Canterbury 1.29 1.33 2.8% $70.1 $69.9 -0.3%
Otago 4.57 4.85 6.1% $226.9 $244.7 7.8%
Southland 1.79 1.94 8.4% $89.5 $99.3 11.0%
New Zealand 81.76 87.84 7.4% $4,041.7 $4,287.6 6.1%
(growth rate this time last year) 7.1% 9.2%

ENDS

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