Kiwis are keeping a close eye on their money in the lead-up to Christmas, according to latest spending figures.
Figures released by Paymark show that while the build-up to Christmas did begin last month, it was a "slight intermission breaking up the busy Rugby World Cup period and the pending
Christmas rush".
Paymark, which processes about 75 per cent of all electronic transactions in New Zealand, processed nearly 77 million transactions worth more than $3.9 billion across New Zealand last month, a 3.2 per cent increase on the year before.
Spokesman Phil Deason said that New Zealanders had kept a close watch on their outgoings over the past year and that appeared to still be the case before the busiest shopping time of the year. "The pre-Christmas spend up typically begins mid-November and it has with spending in the last seven days of November up 9.3 per cent as compared to the first seven days of the month. However, the annual increase in value of 3.2 per cent for the month is slightly below the trend of recent months, Deason said.
"Although annual growth has been slow Christmas this year is still on track to be busier than last year and we are still planning for a very hectic last few days before Christmas Day."
