Cost of living: Did Kiwis spend more or less this Black Friday?

Black Friday spending fell almost 6 per cent compared to last year but the event still remains a drawcard for Kiwi shoppers, according to figures from Worldline.

In-store spending at core retail merchants (excluding hospitality and food and liquor) on Black Friday was $62 million, with a further $64m spent on Saturday.

The combined two-day spend ($126m) was 5.8 per cent down on the same two days last year, and 5.7 per cent lower versus 2019 ($134.0m).

For the seven days ending Sunday, core retail spending reached $346m, 3.9 per cent down on the same Black Friday week in 2022, and 2.7 per cent lower than in 2019.

“Overall, the lower spend for the week is consistent with a pattern that has become more pronounced in the last three months, with household budget pressures appearing to act as a constraint,” Worldline NZ’s chief sales officer Bruce Proffit said.

“There does appear to have been some spreading of spending over the week. Black Friday was generally lower than last year across the country, but spending was up on other days in some regions.

“For example, spending was up around 3 per cent on last year over Wednesday and Thursday in Auckland/Northland.”

Proffit said spending on the Saturday following Black Friday was the busiest day so far this year, surpassing the $62m spent on Easter Saturday.

Black Friday still remains an important event on the shopping calendar with spending for the seven days ending Sunday (November 26) 22 per cent higher than the previous week.

The largest increases in spending amongst merchant groupings were for electrical and electronics (+35 per cent on the week ending Sunday, November 19), clothing and footwear (+29 per cent), recreational goods (+23 per cent) and hardware and furniture (+20 per cent).

Unsurprisingly, the Auckland/Northland region made up the bulk of spending over the two-day Black Friday/Saturday period at $54.9m. This was followed by Canterbury ($17.4m), Wellington ($10.4m) and Waikato ($9.8m).

However, spending over those two days compared with 2022 was up strongest in Marlborough (6.3 per cent) and West Coast (3.6 per cent). Otago was the only other region (+0.7 per cent) where spending didn’t fall.

“The Black Friday regional effect is more evident when restricting spending to Friday and Saturday,” Proffit said.

In Auckland/Northland, spending was down 3.7 per cent versus last year, and 7.9 per cent lower compared with 2019.

Spending over the two-day period was 9.2 per cent lower in Wellington when compared with last year.