Building A Way Forward

Aucklanders’ spending on fast food, home and building supplies surges as Covid Alert Levels shift

 The reduced restrictions under Alert Level 3 in Auckland caused a surge in spending across the city in September according to payment transactions through Worldline (previously Paymark) but spending by the end of the month was still well below pre-Covid levels for most of the city’s Worldline merchants.

Spending through Worldline amongst Core Retail underlying merchants was $314 million in the first seven days of lockdown Level 3 in Auckland-Northland (22-28 Sep), up 27% on the previous seven days, but this was still 25% below pre-Covid levels during the same week of 2019.

The largest surge, both in dollar and percentage terms, was amongst Fast Food merchants, up 652% during the week, to be marginally above pre-Covid levels.

The other noteworthy surge was amongst a range of stores providing building materials, furniture, floor coverings, appliances, and garden supplies, although most merchants except supermarkets experienced a spending surge. However, in general, merchants were also working well below pre-Covid levels.

The Accommodation sector remains one of the hardest hit, with spending during the first week of Level 3 in Auckland-Northland down 80% on the same week in 2019.

All Cards Auckland-Northland spending through Worldline for core retail merchants in first week of Lockdown Level 3 Sep 2021 versus the previous week and the same days in 2019 (* Underlying change excludes large clients moving to or from Worldline)

Meanwhile the rest of New Zealand is mostly above pre-Covid levels

The rest of NZ (note Northland has been included with Auckland) started trading under Level 2 on 8th September. Most merchants also experienced a surge in spending in the first week of the new level including Accommodation merchants up 240% on the previous week, albeit this still left them 61% below 2019.

 All Cards Rest of NZ underlying spending through Worldline for core retail merchants in first week of Level 2 Sep 2021 versus the previous week and versus the same days in 2019 (* Underlying change excludes large clients moving to or from Worldline)

Promisingly, a Level 2 merchant grouping that includes stores selling goods such as furniture, floor coverings, houseware, hardware, building supplies, garden items, recreational goods, clothing, footwear, electrical, electronic, and pharmacy items has continued during the month generally trading above year-ago and pre-Covid levels. Daily spending for this grouping outside of Auckland-Northland is labelled ‘Core Retail excluding Supermarkets & Hospitality’ in the graph below.

All Cards Rest of NZ underlying spending through Worldline for core retail merchants excluding Food-Liquor and Hospitality in September 2021 versus same days in 2020 and 2019 (* Underlying spending excludes large clients moving to or from Worldline)

Taking the monthly trade in total, spending through Worldline by Core Retail merchants was $2,994 million in September 2021, down 17.3% on Sep-20 and down 10.8% on Sep-19. The highest 2-year growth rate was in Wairarapa. Otago (including Queenstown), Southland and Wellington are still trading below 2019 levels.

Figure 4: All Cards NZ spending through Worldline for core retail merchants by region in September 2021 (* Underlying spending excludes large clients moving to or from Worldline)

Note to editors:

These figures reflect general market trends and should not be taken as a proxy for Worldline‘s market share or company earnings. The figures primarily reflect transactions undertaken within stores but also include some e-commerce transactions. The figures exclude transactions through Worldline undertaken by merchants outside the Core Retail sector (as defined by Statistics NZ).

For more information, contact:

Brendan Boughen
T 027 839 6044

E brendan.boughen@paymark.co.nz

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About Worldline

Worldline [Euronext: WLN] is the European leader in the payments and transactional services industry and #4 player worldwide. With its global reach and its commitment to innovation, Worldline is the technology partner of choice for merchants, banks and third-party acquirers as well as public transport operators, government agencies and industrial companies in all sectors. Powered by over 20,000 employees in more than 50 countries, Worldline provides its clients with sustainable, trusted and secure solutions across the payment value chain, fostering their business growth wherever they are. Services offered by Worldline in the areas of Merchant Services; Terminals, Solutions & Services; Financial Services and Mobility & e-Transactional Services include domestic and cross-border commercial acquiring, both in-store and online, highly-secure payment transaction processing, a broad portfolio of payment terminals as well as e-ticketing and digital services in the industrial environment. In 2020 Worldline generated a proforma revenue of 4.8 billion euros. worldline.com

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