Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) card spending data released today shows one week of retail therapy at Alert Level 3 Step 2 has
been enough to raise card spending in Auckland to levels greater than before the Delta lockdown.
Data released today is for the week ending Tuesday the 16th of November, which captures one week for Auckland at the new
alert level step change.
BNZ Chief Economist, Paul Conway, says, “Card spending in Auckland is up 27 per cent on the previous week, which brings
it seven per cent higher than pre delta levels.
“Retailers had been waiting a long time for the freedoms that Alert Level 3 Step 2 brought, and Aucklanders dusted off
their wallets and didn’t disappoint.BNZ customer card spend through domestic merchants. Includes all credit card transactions, debit card transactions, and
EFTPOS card transactions. The index is calculated on the average of the four weeks prior to the delta lockdown.
Transactions include spending less any refunds. Transactions are based on ‘transaction date’. Scaling factors are
applied to the last two days of data to allow for delays in transactions being posted. Around 94% of card spend has been
mapped to a region. The remaining 6% of card spend data is excluded from this analysis.
The previous trading restrictions in the delta lockdown in Auckland were particularly tough on those businesses who
couldn’t provide contactless service, or where it wasn’t profitable.
“Compared to the previous week, Department Stores, Clothing and Furniture have all increased sales this last week by
more than 100 per cent.
“It’s great to see this bounce, and we will continue to monitor the situation to see how the run up to Christmas is
affected by the new traffic light system.