Mark Taylor/Stuff
New Zealanders spent a record-breaking amount last year.
New figures from Worldline show New Zealanders collectively spent almost $36 billion last year.
Excluding spending on hospitality, $35.93b was spent in 2022 through the electronic payment network, up 4.5% on the record 2021 annual total.
When compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, the almost $36b figure was up 13.6%.
The average transaction size in 2022 was $52.01, an increase of 2.5% from 2021.
The record annual spend and increase in transaction size is largely believed to be the result of inflation and the rising cost of goods across all retail categories throughout 2022.
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Worldline NZ chief sales officer Bruce Proffit said inflation and recovery from lockdowns were behind the record spending figures last year.
He said the average transaction size increased across every core retail category. However, he said these increases did not match the 2022 inflation rate, which suggested that shoppers had adjusted their spending to meet their budget constraints.
The end of lockdowns and the Covid-19 framework benefitted the hospitality sector greatly, with spending up 11.9% in 2022 to a total of $10.92b through the Worldline network.
Worldline said New Zealand consumers spent more in 2022 than in any full year previously through the network, but the spending pattern was mixed by year-end. This trend had continued into the New Year.
Spending in the busy six-week pre-Christmas period was slightly down on 2021, with a marginal increase in spending recorded for the full month of December.
Last month $3.92b was spent, up 1.5% on the previous December and 15.6% when compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
Meanwhile, spending in the first seven days of 2023 was up 1.6% on last year and 19.7% on 2019 levels.
The year started with the highest annual regional spending growth in Otago, up 12.6%, followed by Southland at 11.3% and Palmerston North 10.2%.
Spending was below the first seven days of 2022 in Waikato down 3.4%, Bay of Plenty, down 5.4%, and Taranaki, down 3.3%. It was also down in Wairarapa and Wellington in that week.
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In the seven days ending January 7, $661 million was spent throughout New Zealand.
The highest proportion of that spend was in Auckland, accounting for $226 million, followed by $73.3m in the Canterbury region and $58.6m in Wellington.
Retail commentator Chris Wilkinson said New Zealanders had to “spend more to stand still in 2022”.
Despite Kiwis having had pulled back on spending on big ticket items, such as home appliances and home improvement products, he said the record spend in 2022 could be largely attributed to the spike in retail prices.
“People have been spending more just to stand still,” said Wilkinson. “[But] a lot of people provisioned-well for themselves.”
Wilkinson said he believed some of the increase in spending could be attributed to “carry over spend’ or pent up desire to spend fuelled by earlier year’s lockdown.
However, he said he expected retail spending throughout this year to be a very different story, with consumers to tighten their purse strings further.
“I think people are going to be incredibly mindful of where their money goes. The cost of living increases are effecting everyone and people will be looking to maximum value for their dollar.”