NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • Deloitte Fast 50
    • Generate wealth weekly
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Spending rises but Cyclone Gabrielle had ‘major influence’ on Bay consumers

Maryana Garcia
Maryana Garcia
Multimedia Journalist·Bay of Plenty Times·
8 Mar, 2023 05:07 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
New Zealand's biggest bank pays up after scammers target pensioner, why things aren’t all as they seem in the health sector and documents reveal fears our Government has over China in the latest New Zealand Herald headlines. Video / NZ Herald

A Rotorua hospitality provider says the industry is struggling with low supplies and transport issues after Cyclone Gabrielle.

A Restaurant Association representative, however, says local businesses have not noticed much of a downturn.

This comes as Worldline New Zealand data shows spending in the Bay of Plenty rose in February, despite Cyclone Gabrielle’s “major influence” being evident in a drop after it hit.

Rotorua Restaurant Association president Sharon Wallace said while some businesses had been affected by the cyclone, hospitality in Rotorua had not been as hard hit as other regions.

“A lot of cafes in town haven’t noticed any downturn,” Wallace said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Hennessy’s Irish Bar owner Reg Hennessy said his business has been busy with international tourists.

“Where we are struggling is with stock,” Hennessy said.

“And when we go back to our suppliers it’s the same story: Low staffing and transport issues everywhere.”

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Hennessy said there were more visitors from Rotorua also because Hawkes’ Bay and Coromandel were “out of the equation” for travel at the moment.

Worldline, which runs New Zealand’s largest eftpos network, found spending in February was up 7.7 per cent on last February and up 17.1 per cent before Covid in February 2019.

Worldline data showed consumer spending in February 2023 in retail was $2.8 billion.

Worldline New Zealand chief sales officer Bruce Proffit said Cyclone Gabrielle had a “noticeable impact” on consumer spending.

“Data showed spending dropped sharply between Monday, February 13 and Tuesday, February 14 in Auckland, Northland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay and Taranaki,” Proffit said.

“For the same regions, spending increased sharply before the cyclone, which offset the decrease.”

Proffit said the growth was partly due to the effects of severe weather in February 2023 as well as higher tourist numbers.

“At this time last year, New Zealand was still in high-alert mode around Covid, meaning consumer spending was significantly curtailed, so it is not surprising to see a sharp rise on last year,” he said.

Worldline’s data accounts for about 70 per cent of total transaction volume across the country.

Retail New Zealand chief executive Greg Harford said Cyclone Gabrielle had big impacts on business owners.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“Retail took a real hit during the cyclone,” Harford said.

“And while we’ve seen a rebound post-cyclone the effects of that rebound have not been equally spread.”

Harford said while grocery and hardware retailers had seen an increase in demand since the cyclone, sales were still down in fashion and homeware.

Retail New Zealand chief executive Greg Harford. Photo / Supplied
Retail New Zealand chief executive Greg Harford. Photo / Supplied

Businesses in the Coromandel and Hawke’s Bay were struggling, Harford said.

“Things have been pretty tough. Some businesses are struggling to recover from the loss of even a few days of trading.”

Going into the future, Harford said Retail New Zealand was expecting businesses in the cyclone-affected areas to continue to struggle.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“There are questions about how soon people can return to work and about what’s going to happen to people’s disposable incomes.”

Harford said particularly in areas where retail benefitted from the tourism industry, such as the Coromandel, transport played a significant role in retail getting businesses back on their feet.

It comes as a report released by Stats NZ yesterday predicted economic statistics from March 2023 onwards will be affected by recent weather events.

Stats NZ general manager economic and environment insights Jason Attewell said the focus of the report was on forecasting how adverse weather has impacted the economy,

“The cyclones and flooding have affected the economy through disruption to economic activity and loss of assets,” Attewell said.

“People and communities have been affected too and our thoughts are with them.”

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Attewell said the specific impacts of Cyclones Hale and Gabrielle are expected to be seen in results from the March 2023 quarter.

“Effects on data or collection will be explained alongside relevant statistical releases.”

Save
    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

Christchurch Airport emergency: Fiji Airways plane suffers bird strike

Watch
09 Oct 04:30 AM
Christchurch
|Updated

Blood and damage: Fiji Airways flight lands after bird strike sparks airport emergency

09 Oct 04:02 AM
New Zealand

Govt pushes ahead with coastal law change despite protests in Parliament

09 Oct 03:19 AM

Sponsored

Poor sight leaving kids vulnerable

22 Sep 01:23 AM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Christchurch Airport emergency: Fiji Airways plane suffers bird strike
New Zealand

Christchurch Airport emergency: Fiji Airways plane suffers bird strike

A Fiji Airways flight has landed safely after a bird strike sparked a full emergency at Christchurch Airport this afternoon. Video / George Heard

Watch
09 Oct 04:30 AM
Blood and damage: Fiji Airways flight lands after bird strike sparks airport emergency
Christchurch
|Updated

Blood and damage: Fiji Airways flight lands after bird strike sparks airport emergency

09 Oct 04:02 AM
Govt pushes ahead with coastal law change despite protests in Parliament
New Zealand

Govt pushes ahead with coastal law change despite protests in Parliament

09 Oct 03:19 AM


Poor sight leaving kids vulnerable
Sponsored

Poor sight leaving kids vulnerable

22 Sep 01:23 AM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP