Christmas shopping is off to a slow start in Auckland but it is too early to know whether the next 10 days will bring cheer to retailers or to Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard, who wants people to curb their spending.
Pauline McKinley, of the Sendabasket gift basket business inOnehunga, is typical of many retailers, saying business had been slow to start but was picking up and looked to be on a par with or a little below last year's "exceptional" Christmas.
Newmarket Business Association chief executive Cameron Brewer said the first two weeks of December were reasonably slow but had reached a tipping point this week, and Newmarket was now pulsing with eager shoppers.
Heart of the City chief executive Alex Swney said business was brisk in the central city in July and August but September, October and November were about the same or just below last year's levels.
"We don't have the December figures but we have noticed over the past few years that Christmas is coming later and later each year," Mr Swney said.
He said there were signs, such as pre-Christmas sales, that retailers were starting to feel the bite. There was talk in "hushed tones" about spending reaching a plateau.
A Panmure jeweller said many shoppers were still looking, and Christmas could go "one way or the other".
Retailers Association chief executive John Albertson agreed Christmas spending had got off to a sluggish start.
"But with the traditional Kiwi last-minute Christmas shopping rush and the fact Christmas Eve falls on a Saturday this year, we are hopeful that things will pick up," Mr Albertson said.
The association's northern regional manager, Russell Sinclair, said Dr Bollard was doing his best to slow consumer spending but job security and full employment was giving people the confidence to buy and use their credit cards.
Paymark, whose Eftpos network accounts for about 80 per cent of electronic transactions in New Zealand, said consumers spent $1.5 billion in the first two weeks of December, 7-8 per cent higher than last year. Retail spending - excluding some items such as petrol - rose a little less.
