The latest retail trends are in, and they reveal the evolving spending habits in our region:

• Retail card spending decreased by 1.3% compared to this time last year.
• Over the year to December 2024, spending declined 0.8%, slightly below the national growth rate of 0.1%. This reflects a real drop in spending power, given inflation stands at 2.2%.

What does this mean for you?

While inflation continues to ease, households are still feeling the pinch, with more income directed toward essentials like groceries, liquor, and other consumer spending, which saw the strongest spending growth. Conversely, discretionary categories like home goods and recreational items dropped by 3.8%, highlighting a shift toward ‘needs’ over ‘wants.'

Highest and lowest spending days

Retail spending in Manawatū typically peaks on Fridays and Saturdays, but the highest single-day spend in the December 2024 quarter was Monday 23rd December, at $8.3 million, driven by last-minute Christmas shopping. In contrast, Christmas Day saw the lowest spend at $0.5 million due to most businesses being closed for the public holiday.

Retail precincts

Over the past year, shoppers spent $1.49 billion in Palmerston North and $287 million in the Manawatū district, both down 0.8%. The Inner CBD was the only city precinct to see growth, up 0.6%, while Feilding's spending dropped slightly by 0.2%.