Early December retail rush short-lived

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Kiwis pushed 8.4 million transactions through the tills during the first three days of December, but the retail cheer was short-lived, latest figures show.

Paymark, which processes three quarters of all electronic transactions in New Zealand, said transactions during the first three days of the month were up as much as 10 per cent across some retail sectors.

Across the board they were up 7.4 per cent on the same three days last year.

This cheer was short-lived however, as sales across the country dropped off after December 3, according to Paymark.

The value of these transactions was up 8 per cent, and represented a total spend of $435 million.

Eft-pos terminals in supermarkets, restaurants/cafés and handyman/decorating stores were working overtime during this period, posting annual growth above 10 per cent.

Geographically, the spending surge was felt most in the North Island with annual growth averaging 8.3 per cent.

This was in contrast to the South Island, which only grew 4.4 per cent during the three-day period.

While the first three days of the month saw bumper sales, spending over the first seven days of trading tell a more subdued story, with an annual growth rate of 5.2 per cent - similar to the growth rate in November.

The volume of transactions was also similar to last month - steady at 4.9 per cent.

By the weekend, the shopping spree had all but faded, with weekend sales slowing to just 1.8 per cent (by value) and 2.5 per cent (by volume) - levels that mirror mid-year trends.

Paymark chief executive Simon Tong, said that the early spend-up and subsequent lull in December sales to-date is another indicator that the retail landscape remains patchy.

"Last month, appliance, recreational and electronic stores were slow and in the first 12 days of December it's apparel, appliance and gardening stores that are experiencing lower sales when compared to the same time last year.

"When you look at the first 12 days of the month as a whole, we see that spending is up 4.0 per cent on the same period in 2009. This is a lower growth rate than in October and November 2010. Even though sales were strong in November, we saw mixed results across the retail sectors, and this trend has continued into the first half of December," said Tong.

"In the past we have seen patterns similar to this, with spending coming late in the month and if tradition stands, we'll expect to see a final rush in the last two or three days prior to Christmas," he said.

By region, Wellington, the West Coast and Nelson are experiencing slow sales, with modest spending growth of 2.5 per cent, 1.6 per cent and 1.9 per cent respectively.

- NZ HERALD ONLINE