Southlanders more likely to eat in than dine out

Southlanders more likely to eat in than dine out

People from Southland spend the third highest amount on groceries when compared to 12 other regions in New Zealand, beaten only by Marlborough and Otago respectively.

Southlanders between the ages of 18-75 spend around $658 on average per month at the supermarket but when broken down further, Southlanders aged 36-55 spend $951, 56-75s spend $697 and millennials (18-35s) spend $538.

Overall, mainlanders spend more on groceries than people in the North Island.

Westpac drilled down into the data of more than 96,000 of its CashNav app users* and found that those living in Southland spend on average $1294 per month in four categories (dining out, groceries, health and entertainment) - $383 less than Aucklanders who spend the most.

Westpac’s CashNav app allows customers to track their daily spending habits by categorising what they spend their money on and identifying what is holding their saving aspirations back. It also notifies them if their spending is higher than usual.

The app does this by automatically categorising customers’ EFTPOS, debit and credit card transactions into one of 12 categories such as eating out, shopping, travel, entertainment, home, groceries, transportation, utilities, education and health. Retailers choose their category although CashNav users can re-categorise them if they want to.

Westpac NZ General Manager of Marketing, Products and Transformation Andrew Kerr says CashNav allows customers to monitor their spending and take control of their purchasing habits.

“They can see if their spending is going up or down over the month and identify exactly where to cut back in order to save more.”

But when it comes to eating out at cafés, restaurants and fast food outlets, Southlanders are more like to watch their pennies, spending the least of all regions at $276 on average per month.

It’s a similar spending story when it comes to health (gyms, pharmacies, make-up shops and beauty salons) and on entertainment (movies, concerts, gaming and gambling).

“It appears that CashNav users in Southland are good at watching what they’re spending. The app allows them to see when their spending is creeping up and how it’s affecting their saving for the bigger things they want. From there, they can make different spending choices,” says Mr Kerr.

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