Consumer spending through Worldline NZ’s payment network picked up in the third week of December, but remained below year-ago levels so far this pre-Christmas shopping season, the company says.

Spending processed through Worldline’s core retail merchants in the first 21 days of December reached $3.223 billion, down 1.3% on the first 21 days of December 2024.

Worldline NZ’s chief sales officer Bruce Proffit said payments jumped sharply last week on the week before, as usually happens this time of year, but spending year-on-year remained below that of 2024 for the week and month to date.

“As anticipated, we continued to see the spending at food and liquor shops increase in the third week of December and the busiest days are yet to come for that retail sector,” he said.

“The hospitality sector meanwhile was very busy on Saturday [December 20] and likely reached its Christmas season peak that day.

“However, this peak day was 3.8% below the 2024 peak and even below levels recorded on one day in February 2025, which suggests spending on pre-Christmas parties was more modest this year,” Proffit said.

“Likewise, in the wider core retail sector, spending stepped up another level from the immediately prior weeks but spending remains below year-ago levels so far this month for stores selling electronics, gifts, clothes, furniture, appliances, sports equipment and books.”

The exceptions, with spending up on last year, included toy stores, chemists, jewellers and home decorating retailers.

Proffit also said the gap between spending this year and last year will likely close to some extent in the next three days, as spending did in 2014 when Christmas Day was last on a Thursday.

Combining the three merchant groups, annual growth of core retail spending through the payments network in the first 21 days of December was highest in Whanganui (up 2.7%) and Otago (up 1.9%), while spending declines were largest in percentage terms in Wellington (down 4.8%) and Bay of Plenty (down 3.4%).

Jamie Gray is an Auckland-based journalist, covering the financial markets, the primary sector and energy. He joined the Herald in 2011.