Tauranga Crossing has seen steady visitation throughout the year and is expecting a very active summer season. Photo / Sean McCabe
The Bay of Plenty is gearing up for the busy summer shopping period and a local retailer says they’re ready for a “very active” season ahead.
Retailers across New Zealand were entering the peak Christmas and summer trading period with a steady sense of confidence, according to the latest Retail NZ’s Retail Radar report.
Sixty-six per cent of retailers were confident or very confident about the future, the report said, and were feeling a similar level of optimism to this time last year.
Retail NZ said this level of confidence reflected a more conservative approach to forecasting, suggesting many retailers were adapting rather than despairing.
Worldline NZ data showed consumer spending through all core retail merchants in its payments network reached $139.3 million in the Bay of Plenty during the first 14 days of December, which was down 2.4% year-on-year.
Nationally, consumer spending reached $2.049 billion in that same period, down 0.3% from last year.
Tauranga Crossing centre manager Janet Vincent said the centre was expecting to see growth in both foot traffic and sales during the holiday season.
“The Bay of Plenty always sees an influx of visitors over summer, and Tauranga Crossing benefits from that seasonal tourism as well as continued local growth.
“With more people in the region and a lot of interest in our new development, we’re expecting a very active summer season,” Vincent said.
A $55m expansion of Tauranga Crossing opened in October, with 8100sq m of new retail space including a new 6500sq m, two-level Farmers store.
The remaining 1600sq m of space was tenanted by stores including Stirling Sports, Stirling Women, Toyworld and The Village Collection.
“The greatest uplift [in sales] will likely come from fashion, beauty and dining, as shoppers explore the expanded offer and enjoy the new precinct.”
Vincent said the shopping centre would expect more regional visitors with an “influx of holiday-goers” visiting for the first time.
She said value was “front of mind” for many shoppers in this economic environment.
“We believe most customers are being more intentional with their purchases, but spending remains steady across key categories.
“People are definitely seeking out good deals and promotions, but they’re still willing to spend when something feels worthwhile.”
Tourism Bay of Plenty head of strategy and insights Richard Faire told the Bay of Plenty Times more than 70% of total visitor onshore electronic card spending last summer was on retail items.
He said this was followed by hospitality at 18% and accommodation at 6%.
“It’s no surprise that these particular sectors benefit greatly whenever there’s a significant increase in visitation and associated traffic.”
Faire said electronic card spending continued to be the most relevant metric for retail, but Tourism Bay of Plenty also tracked overall visitor sentiment towards the region.
Last summer, international visitor satisfaction was 92% and domestic visitor satisfaction was 79%.
“This is extremely encouraging and a testament to the diversity and appeal of the attractions and activities we have on offer in the Bay of Plenty,” Faire said.
He said with longer summer days and shopping hours, peak visitor days gave main streets and shopping centres a “vital opportunity” to increase revenue over a short period.
“This helps offset lower demand at other times of the year.”
The latest available Tourism Bay of Plenty data showed the Bay recorded up to 1.4 million visitor days during the peak three-month holiday period between November 2022 and January 2023.
Visitor days were the sum of daily visitor counts; one visitor staying four days was equal to four visitor days, and was an indication of how busy a region was during any given month.
In Rotorua, data provided by Rotorua NZ showed retail spend was $272m for the 12 months ending September 2025.
Retail holds 58% of the share of spending in Rotorua, and compared to the same period last year, it showed a 7% growth.
According to Rotorua NZ, visitors peaked between November and February and the average peak daytime visitor population for the month of October 2025 was 17,560.
Consumer spending in November was slightly higher than a year ago and Worldline NZ data showed Black Friday spending on non-food goods reached $55.6m.
It was the busiest shopping day this year for non-food retailers transacting on Worldline NZ’s payments network.
Worldline figures released on December 2 showed spending through all core retail merchants in its payments network reached $4.09b in November 2025.
This was up 1.1% on the same month in 2024, after adjusting for merchant changes. In the Bay of Plenty, spending totalled $277m, up 0.2% year-on-year.
Kaitlyn Morrell is a multimedia journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has lived in the region for several years and studied journalism at Massey University.