Budget 2025 Must Deliver Consumer Confidence

Retailers will be looking for next week’s Budget announcements to boost consumer confidence and spending, Retail NZ says.

Strong signals on economic recovery are on Retail NZ’s wish list for the Budget announcements.

The Electronic Card Transactions data for April 2025, released today by Stats NZ, shows a tiny increase in sales compared with April 2024, it is not enough to improve the outlook for retail, Retail NZ Advocacy Manager Ann-Marie Johnson says.

The 0.8% lift reflects the Easter public holidays, which fell fully within April this year, and also within the April school holiday period. Easter spanned March and April in 2024.

The figures also show that the value of the average transaction has not changed since April last year, with consumers spending $55 per transaction.

“There’s still a long way to go before we see any light at the end of the tunnel. Retail NZ members are anticipating slow sales and uncertainty through this winter. Although there may be some relief from lower interest rates putting more money in consumers’ pockets, low consumer confidence will continue to rein in spending. We are hoping the upcoming Budget will help restore confidence to the marketplace.”

Retail NZ’s latest quarterly Retail Radar survey, covering January-March 2025, found that 57% of retailers did not meet sales targets for the quarter and had mixed expectations for quarter two sales.

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