Weekly spending on BNZ credit and debit cards was down again for the week ending December 7, 2014, reported Marketview.

Compared with the same week last year retail spending was down 0.98 per cent.

There was an increase in the volume of 0.56 per cent.

Last week’s spending was up 0.27 per cent, yet this week’s results followed the common theme of the last month where spending was down 1.05 per cent compared with the same 30 days last year.

It is likely that pre-Christmas spending will rise again on December 23 and 24, when the rates last year rose by 24.9 per cent compared with the same two days in 2012.

Spending at the supermarket and dairy was down 0.7 per cent, which Marketview reported as a bit of surprise as in the past year spending has risen by 4.1 per cent.

Spending at travel agents was up 19.2 per cent, compared with the same week in 2013.

Marketview reported that with the strong New Zealand dollar, falling oil prices and improved connectivity between NZ and other countries, the cost of air travel may be giving more opportunities for travel bargains.