Northlanders Have Their Eyes on Their Wallets

Northlanders Have Their Eyes on Their Wallets

Northlanders’ spending on eating out, groceries, health and entertainment is some of the lowest in the country, according to data gleaned from Westpac NZ.

However, Northlanders in the 56-75 age group spend the second highest amount on health, at around $379 on average per month – only Aucklanders in that age group spend more at $429.

Westpac drilled down into the data of more than 96,000 of its CashNav app users* and found that those in Northland generally spend less when compared with other New Zealand regions. Their spending came in at tenth out of 13 in the entertainment, groceries and eating out categories, and ninth when it came to spending on health.

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.”

Northlanders spend around $574 on average per month on groceries. When broken down into age groups, those aged 36-55 in Northland spend $777, the 56-75s spend $590 and millennials (18-35s) spend $449.

Northlander also spend less on eating out at around $310 on average per month, beaten only by Manawatu-Wanganui and Southland residents, who spend less. It’s a similar spending story when it comes to health (gyms, pharmacies, make-up shops and beauty salons) in the 18-55 year old age group, and on entertainment (movies, concerts, gaming and gambling).

“It appears that CashNav users in Northland 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.

ENDS

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