Annual figures released by Worldline NZ showed that consumer spending growth in 2024 was the slowest in half a decade.
Consumer spending through Core Retail merchants (excluding hospitality) in Worldline NZ’s payments network reached NZD 36.30B in 2024, up +0.8 percent from 2023, adjusted for merchants moving to or from the Worldline payments network.
While the number of transactions increased in 2024, the average transaction size declined by -0.6 percent (adjusted) to NZD 50.35.
Worldline NZ’s Chief Sales Officer, Bruce Proffit, said the low spending growth in 2024 confirmed how challenging the retail environment was for Kiwi merchants.
“While consumers may have made more transactions through retailers in Worldline NZ payments network than the previous year, the annual underlying spending growth, that is, the actual increase in dollars spent, was the lowest we’ve seen in the last five years,” said Proffit.
Proffit noted that the average transaction value recorded through Worldline’s network also declined in 2023, likely due to a combination of merchant discounting and fewer consumer purchases of high-value products.
“If we look back at 2020, that was clearly a tough year for consumers and retailers with the onset of Covid, which led to a drop in the number of transactions made through Worldline NZ’s network that year. However, prices also increased sharply in 2020, which meant the dollars spent back then did increase.”
He added that last year, the key driver was less money spent, with the likely key factor being the ongoing adjustment of budgets to the inflationary period that emerged in 2020. The budget pressure was more evident in the hospitality sector, where the average transaction value declined in 2024.
Last month, consumer spending processed through all non-food Core Retail merchants (Core Retail excluding hospitality, food and liquor) in Worldline NZ’s payments network in December 2024 reached NZD 3.82B, down -0.7 percent on December 2023.
“Figures for the month confirm the pattern previously reported for pre-Christmas spending. That is, the traditional end-of-year spending spree did occur but was not enough to push spending above year-ago levels in the major cities.”
Auckland/Northland (-2 percent), Wellington (-2 percent), and Canterbury (-0.4 percent) experienced annual declines, although the smaller Marlborough region experienced the most significant decline (-2.2 percent).
Annual spending growth did occur in some regions, with the highest rates seen in West Coast (+4.2 percent) and Whanganui (+3.4 percent).
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