Bay bars wait for tills to ring

Christmas spending is in full force in Hawke's Bay - but not in the pub.

Tills are ringing with Christmas cheer in Hawke's Bay - but not everyone is seeing a rise in profits.

Statistics released by Paymark showed Hawke's Bay residents have swiped away a total of $62.5 million in the first two weeks of the Christmas break - a 1.7 per cent increase from December 2013.

The data also revealed a 2.4 per cent increase in Eftpos transactions compared to the same time in 2013 with 1.32 million transactions recorded for the first half of December this year.

Manager at The Thirsty Whale Bar and Restaurant, Michael Dickerson, said the Hawke's Bay hospitality industry had not felt the lift yet.

"There has been no noticeable difference from last year. We have been pretty quiet mostly because of the weather. We have had really terrible weather which keeps people away from bars and restaurants.

"The new drink-driving laws have also had an effect. People are far more wary about having a second glass of wine or beer which is great for New Zealand roads but not so good for business. It also seems to have changed people's attitudes towards drinking which has been interesting and has also had an effect on business."

Mr Dickerson said he hoped his bar and restaurant would get a Christmas rush but said it would be "weather dependant".

"As long as the sun is shining, we will hopefully get a bit busier but it is an annual trend that we do get quite busy in the last two weeks leading into Christmas ..."

On a national scale, Kiwis spent $2.3 billion in the first two weeks of December - a 4.3 per cent increase on December 2013. The number of transactions processed since December 1 totalled 46.7 million according to Paymark statistics, up from the 43.9 million transactions recorded last year.

Paymark's head of sales and marketing Paul Whiston said the first two weeks of the festive season reflected a steady start to Christmas spending.

"Despite lower petrol prices impacting on the overall spend, the annual growth rate - excluding fuel - is still a solid 5.7 per cent."

He said cooler weather and Boxing Day sales were likely to be having an impact. " ... it's been the coldest start to summer since 2006 which may influence shopping behaviour."