It was a mixed bag for August spending in the Bay of Plenty, but the arrival of the AIMS Games is expected to be a "shot in the arm" for Tauranga retailers.
The latest Paymark figures released to the Bay of Plenty Times showed spending in August was $286.6 million.
This was down from July, when spending was $298.7 million.
However, August spending this year was up 8.9 per cent compared to spending in August last year.
Though spending had declined month-on-month, it would take several weeks to determine whether it indicated spending momentum has slowed or whether the country was pre-occupied with the Olympic Games or other distractions.
It was "all cylinders firing" in Tauranga, according to Chamber of Commerce CEO Stan Gregec.
"There may well have been an Olympics factor that affected overall spend nationwide but the Tauranga local economy looks to be in pretty good shape."
He said the injection of 9300 young athletes and their caregivers into Tauranga for the week-long AIMS Games would be a "shot in the arm" for Tauranga retailers.
"For a week or so it's a comparable effect to when we have lots of tourists in town over the summer months.
"We could do with more events on this scale that attract out-of-towners," Mr Gregec said.
Papamoa Plaza manager David Hill said spending for the plaza was well up for August.
"Papamoa is the fastest growing suburb and we have a whole heap of new people coming in."
He said there were nine new stores opening in the plaza next month "so it's only going to get better and better."
He said AIMS Games was having an impact, with lots of people staying in Papamoa - not only in motels and campgrounds but in homes, too.
"We've noticed an upswing in spending, and the supermarket has just gone nuts," Mr Hill said.
Bayfair Shopping Centre manager Steve Ellingford said though the centre did not make comparisons month to month, spending compared to August last year looked good.
"We haven't probably seen the growth we have seen in the past but we are still growing. We are on the back of a huge August last year," he said.
Bayfair was right amongst the AIMS Games events and Mr Ellingford estimated the centre would see an additional 10,000 visits for the centre over the week.
"The Games is fantastic for the centre - and the whole city. For the kids, the food court is certainly popular."
Priority One's Greg Simmonds said with over 9000 intermediate school students and their families in Tauranga they expected to see a spike in spending during September.