New Zealand retail has seen another solid week, with retail spending on electronic transactions through BNZ growing 2.4 per cent year on year for the week ending February 15.

According to BNZ’s weekly MarketView report, this figure aligns closely with the rise in spending for the last 30 days of 2.6 per cent.

Store types to benefit from the growth included hardware and homeware, up 14.1 per cent; recorded music, 12.5 per cent; and sports and camping equipment, up 11.1 per cent.

Valentine’s Day fell on the Saturday of the week, however, despite Saturday being traditionally the day of the week with the highest retail spend, spending was down 7.2 per cent from Valentines’ Day last year.

Within this drop in spending, cafes and restaurants experienced a 3.4 per cent decline.

Also on Valentine’s Day, Christchurch hosted the opening match of Cricket World Cup. Bars, cafes, and restaurants saw a 25.1 per cent rise in spending from the same Saturday last year. Spending in Christchurch from ‘non-locals’ was up 29.2 per cent overall, including a 61.3 per cent rise at those hospitality merchants.