Weekly retail spending on BNZ credit and debit cards was down again this week, marking the third week in a row where consumers were spending less compared with the same period in 2013.

Spending was down 1.6 per cent for the week ending November 9, 2014 compared with the same week last year, reported the BNZ MarketView.

Transaction volumes were up 1.1 per cent over the same period, which suggested that consumers were out spending, but watching their pennies.

The food category showed decent growth this week, with spending up 1.8 per cent for the week, and 1.6 per cent for the last month.