Northland retail spending on the rise - though not as much as some places

Credit and debit card transactions in Northland have increased, but by less than the national average. Photo / File

Retail spending across the wider region last month was 5 per cent up on January last year, though a business leader says Northland's growth is in quite selected areas.

The local economy is growing, says Northland Chamber of Commerce chief executive Tony Collins, but mainly in civil construction and owner-operated businesses.

According to new Paymark data, year-on-year growth in credit and debit card transactions in Auckland and Northland was 5.4 per cent - less than the national average of 6.1 per cent.

Greg Harford, spokesman for Retail NZ, said anecdotal evidence suggested spending increases were greater in the Auckland region.

"There has been particularly strong performance in Hawke's Bay, the Waikato, Auckland and Otago," he said.

"There is an imbalance between urban and regional areas."

The largest regional increase was in Hawke's Bay at 11.1 per cent, with the Bay of Plenty not far behind on 10.4 per cent.

The lowest increase in card transactions was in the Marlborough region, at just 0.2 per cent.

Statistics New Zealand estimated the nationwide increase in card transaction figures at 5.6 per cent. Spokesman Neil Kelly said: "The lift in retail card spending in January was across the board."

The durables sector (hardware, furniture and appliances) had the largest increase in spending, according to the Statistics New Zealand figures.

Paymark also reported a large growth in spending on hardware and furniture, up 49 per cent over the past five years.

Growth for the month of January alone was 3.1 per cent in this sector.

Electronic card spending has risen by one-third over the past five years, which Paymark said represented an economic trend as well as an increase in card use.

The highest spending recorded was in the food and beverage sector, up 64 per cent between 2011 and 2016.

Accommodation spending was also up, by 58 per cent over the same period.

The monthly increase of 2.7 per cent across all sectors reported by Statistics New Zealand was offset by flat results in November and December.

Mr Harford told The Northern Advocate anecdotal evidence suggested retail spending was not growing hugely at a national level.

"It's been a bit middling."