Spending in NZ on cards through the BNZ system for the week ending March 13, 2015 rose 2.1 per cet and transaction volumes grew 3.26 per cent compared to the same week last year.

According to Michael Stechman of BNZ, this week’s breakdown between categories is similar to that of most of last year.

Spending on food and liquor was solid, up 4.4 per cent over the same week last year, while consumables and general retail was fairly flat at just one per cent growth.

Durables and big ticket items fell by 3.1 per cent.

“On a week to week basis so far in 2015, the trends between categories have been quite varied, with holidays and cheap fuel factoring into this,” Stechman says.

“Post-Easter, we expect consumer behaviour to revert to this pattern of an increased fondness for spending on experiential retail rather than physical items.”

The largest rises for the week were seen in hardware and homeware, up eight per cent; bars, cafes, and restaurants, up 7.4 per cent; and liquor retailers, up 6.9 per cent.