Eftpos transactions fell last month, food spend rose

Wednesday 4th March 2009

New Zealanders' spending fell last month, with a drop in big-ticket purchases and luxury items, according to Paymark.

There were about $3.25 billion of electronic transactions across Paymark's network in February, down 2.2% from a year earlier. The volume of transactions gained 1.1% from February 2008, when the month included an extra day for leap year.

Spending on food climbed 6.6% in value term and 6.9% in volume, suggesting consumers are choosing to buy their food from the supermarket and eat at home, rather than dine out. Adjusting for leap year, the value of transaction rose 1.9% in the latest month, it said.

Spending in Auckland and Northland fell 2.6% to $1.26 billion, spending in Wellington dropped 1% to $337 million and the value of transactions in Canterbury declined 1.7% to $399.7 million. Spending fell 2.8% to $228 million in Waikato and 3.2% to $205.7 million in the Bay of Plenty.

Paymark's eftpos network handles about 75% of New Zealand's in-store electronic transactions, according to its statement.

By Jonathan Underhill

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