NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Business / Companies / Retail

Retailers ready for bonanza

Amelia Wade
By Amelia Wade
Political reporter·NZ Herald·
9 Dec, 2012 10:48 AM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Christmas shopping has started early at Westfield St Lukes in Auckland. Photo / Natalie Slade

Christmas shopping has started early at Westfield St Lukes in Auckland. Photo / Natalie Slade

Spending up on last year as advertised festive season bargains pull in consumers.

Retailers are in a Christmas sale free-for-all with only 15 days left to the 25th.

New Zealanders have been spending more this year - November spending was up 4.6 per cent on last year, according to figures from Paymark, which processes about 75 per cent of all electronic transactions in New Zealand.

But the real rush is tipped to be still coming.

Homeware, beds, linen, toys, holidays, cars, groceries, bikes, electronics, outdoor furniture, CDs and DVDs have all been advertised as on sale in festive offers.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

One furniture store is even touting that its Boxing Day sale "is on now".

New Zealand Retailers Association chief executive John Albertson said this time of year was vital to retailers as it was when most had their largest volume of sales.

Mr Albertson said the national increase in spending this November compared with the same month last year was encouraging. He predicted December to be up 3 to 4 per cent.

"We'd be very happy with that."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

During festive sales, retailers needed to be sure they had the stock, bargains and the staff to cope.

"Consumers can be very stressed this time of year so it's vital to have the right amount of staff on to cope," Mr Albertson said.

"It looks like it's going to be areally great Christmas for consumers this year - there's lots of salesand bargains to make the most of."

And New Zealanders are taking advantage of the savings.

Discover more

Media and marketing

NZ online ad spend rises despite challenges

13 Nov 10:30 PM
Small Business

NZ businesses retreat from social media

14 Nov 02:15 AM
Retail

Icebreaker launches NZ online store

15 Nov 02:00 AM
Opinion

BLOG: Silly season spending

16 Nov 04:30 PM

Paymark head of sales and marketing Paul Whiston said the increase in pre-Christmas spending had followed the patterns of recent years.

"Based on historic figures, we expect the real rush is yet to come," he said.

"Between 2007 and 2011 spending jumped an average of 27 per cent from November to December as Kiwis ramped up their card usage in anticipation of Christmas."

But it's not just retailers who have seen the benefits of New Zealanders opening their wallets.

As the festive season swings into gear, spending at shops selling alcohol (up 10 per cent) and cafes and restaurants (up 9.3 per cent) are among the other increases on last year.

This is an improvement on the weak annual growth rate in these sectors in recent months, according to Mr Whiston.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

However, the sharp increase could be attributed in part to November 2012 having one more Friday than November 2011.

"It's great to see Kiwis getting into the Christmas spirit and spending across a diverse range of sectors," said Mr Whiston.

"We hope to see retailers reaping the benefits in the coming weeks."

Nationwide, during November, the number of card transactions was 5.1 per cent higher than it was a year ago, Mr Whiston said.

Debit card use (up 5.2 per cent) increased faster than credit card use (up 4.9 per cent) for the second month in a row.

It's the gift that counts, not the thought

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

While the organised among us will have bought, wrapped and tagged Christmas gifts, for those beginning to panic there is helpful scientific advice: don't agonise over picking the perfect present.

Psychologists have decided that "it's the thought that counts" is not true. It is the gift. So those agonising for an idea might as well ask the recipient what he or she wants.

Nick Epley, a lecturer in behavioural science at the University of Chicago, said: "The common wisdom is that the receiver values the amount of time you spent thinking about the gift, trying to get it right. This is a mistaken assumption, according to our experiments."

In a paper published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology last month, Epley contends that gift receivers do not care about how much thought and effort went into buying a gift; they primarily care whether they like it or not.

"Our definition of thoughtfulness is the amount of thought you expend to get a gift for someone that they will really like," he said.

"In our experiments we contrast that with simply getting the gift that someone puts at the top of their wish list. That's thoughtless because it didn't require much thought.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"If you give me a gift, I don't necessarily think about the amount of time you spent getting the gift. I think about the gift. Do I like the gift? If I like it, I like it equally whether it was chosen randomly or thoughtfully, according to our data.

"A lot of thought is not necessary - just listen carefully when they tell you what they want, write it down and go and get it," said Epley.

The scientists admit their somewhat unromantic analysis does not address the pleasure of giving.

"What is lost in this is that in a gift exchange it's not just the gift receiver who benefits - the gift giver gets a lot of pleasure," he said.

"It's fun to go out and think about a gift that is just right."

But is that being a little bit selfish?

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"The happiness that comes out of that is not for the gift receiver," said Epley. "The person who benefits from putting thought into a gift is the one having the thoughts."

- Conal Urquhart, Observer

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Retail

Retail

Foodstuffs to open $73m Pt Chevalier store early after Vic Park fire

04 Jul 03:55 AM
Premium
Business|economy

18,800 people booked for NZICC; anaesthetists, ophthalmologists the latest

03 Jul 10:39 PM
Retail

Consumer NZ calls for action on 'shrinkflation' amid rising concerns

03 Jul 05:00 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Retail

Foodstuffs to open $73m Pt Chevalier store early after Vic Park fire

Foodstuffs to open $73m Pt Chevalier store early after Vic Park fire

04 Jul 03:55 AM

Foodstuffs' Pt Chevalier store will open on August 19, earlier than planned.

Premium
18,800 people booked for NZICC; anaesthetists, ophthalmologists the latest

18,800 people booked for NZICC; anaesthetists, ophthalmologists the latest

03 Jul 10:39 PM
Consumer NZ calls for action on 'shrinkflation' amid rising concerns

Consumer NZ calls for action on 'shrinkflation' amid rising concerns

03 Jul 05:00 PM
Woolworths mistakenly tells 500,000 members they will receive a gift voucher

Woolworths mistakenly tells 500,000 members they will receive a gift voucher

03 Jul 03:13 AM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP