Shoppers keep their wallets zipped

Retailers hope for last-minute rush but budget advisers say families cutting back. Photo / Steven McNicholl

Christmas shopping has slumped this year, with tight budgets and wet weather taking a bite out of retail sales.

Overall, spending on Eftpos and credit cards during the first 21 days of December rose 3.8 per cent on last year, but it fell 0.8 per cent in the final weekend before Christmas - normally one of the busiest times of the season.

That weekend fall was sharper in Auckland and Northland, at 1.8 per cent. The figures were released by Paymark, which deals with 75 per cent of all card transactions in New Zealand.

Retailers hope this indicates that a last-minute rush is coming, but budget advisers say families are making Christmas work without succumbing to consumption.

Retailers Association chief executive John Albertson said an emotionally tough year, including the Christchurch earthquake and the Pike River mining disaster, had affected people's eagerness to shop.

NZ Federation of Family Budgeting Services chief executive Raewyn Fox said an unusually high number of people had been seeking advice this December, bucking a trend where families closed their eyes to difficulties at Christmas.

"Either people are in crises before Christmas, which is really bad, or they're thinking more about their spending, which is really good."

Families were being inventive with their gift-giving, choosing to do nice things rather than spend money, Ms Fox said. Some were giving presents only to their children and not to their partners.

A breakdown of the figures shows that for many families, this Christmas is more about simple toys and special food than big, expensive presents.

Sales at small toy shops were up 12 per cent and speciality food 18 per cent, while sales at jewellery and watch stores rose just 0.3 per cent and at music shops fell 20.1 per cent.

Farmers' head of marketing, Dean Cook, said sales were late because Christmas was on a Saturday. "Most people will work the entire week before Christmas and this means limited time for shopping," he said.

There were two types of Christmas shoppers, "pre-planners" and "procrastinators", Mr Cook said.

Retailers hope the latter are leaving their shopping especially late this year.

Last-minute shoppers tended to buy from designated "gift" aisles, picking presents on the spot, Mr Cook said.

"Procrastinators are looking for the Christmas solution," he said. "Department stores can be daunting at Christmas time, especially for males, who may not visit them so often."

In contrast, "pre-planner" shoppers completed their shopping in November, before the Christmas crowds started to build, Mr Cook said.

Paymark chief executive Simon Tong said Christmas shopping this year had been dampened by a general feeling of "keeping things a bit more subdued than in the past".

Heavy discounting earlier in the year, bad weather on the last shopping weekend before Christmas, and restraint on luxury and big-ticket items also contributed to a weak growth in sales, he said.

MONEY TRAIL

* 12 per cent rise: Sales at small toy shops.

* 18 per cent rise: Specialty foods.

* 0.3 per cent rise: Jewellery and watch stores.

* 20.1 per cent fall: Music store sales.