Silly season spending off to a slow start

File photo / Natalie Slade

Silly season spending is off to a slow start with consumer spending growth slower than at this time last year.

Paymark spending figures showed that although spending increased 4.9 per cent in December's first week, this was well below last year's growth rate of 8.6 per cent for the same time.

Mark Spicer, head of Paymark customer relations, said factors including lower fuel prices probably affected figures. He expected spending to shoot up in coming weeks.

Paymark also released figures for last month's nationwide spending, compared to November 2013.

Nationwide, there were 6.5 per cent more transactions last month than in November 2013. But Kiwis were spending less with each transaction, so overall spending was only up 5.2 per cent.

Spending on accommodation, food and beverages was well up but spending at department stores, recreational goods retailers and pharmacies was down.

Growth last month was strongest in Nelson, Otago, Auckland and Northland, the Bay of Plenty, and Canterbury.

Key statistics:

Spending in the clothing, footwear and personal accessories through the Paymark network has been slow this year at -5.1 per cent.

Sectors that experienced slow growth during November included department stores (+1.2 per cent), recreational goods (+0.7 per cent) and pharmacies (+0.1 per cent)

Regions that experienced slower growth during November included the West Coast (-2.8 per cent), Southland (-1.6 per cent), Taranaki (-1.4 per cent) and South Canterbury (-0.2 per cent).

Source: Paymark Regional Data (November 2014 versus same month 2013)