High street retailers had a minimal boost to instore spending on Black Friday this year according to data from POS software compaby Vend, with a seven per cent increase in retail spend compared to the November average and an eight per cent increase on last year.

The data also showed the level of instore discounting on Black Friday rose 13 per cent compared to last year.

Traditionally, Black Friday is the day for big in-store deals while Cyber Monday is when retailers promote online discounts. But in a world where online and instore are converging, retailers this year used Black Friday as a way to drive sales across both channels.

“Black Friday is fast becoming one of the biggest retail events of the year for sales and spending in New Zealand,” said Vaughan Rowsell, founder at Vend. “But it’s no longer just one day of big in-store deals – globally, or here in NZ. This year we saw many retailers run online promotions alongside their store-wide sales, and across the entire weekend into Cyber Monday. As competition here heats up and consumers demand flexibility in how and where they shop, it’s only natural that local retailers look at alternative ways to capture that cash.”

Christchurch saw the biggest jump in Black Friday retail spending this year – increasing by 15 per cent from the average Friday in November – while in Auckland spending rose by 8 per cent. Retail spend in Wellington on Black Friday declined by 7 per cent year-on-year and was down 6 per cent compared to the November average.

“Regional spending this year could very well have been impacted by the Kaikoura earthquake, as we saw sales values in Wellington spike to their highest levels for November on the 15th when people likely purchased supplies and necessities,” said Vaughan.

Spending for the rest of November then declined by 6 per cent compared to the same period last year.

“This isn’t to say there was a lack of appetite from Wellington retailers – discounting in the capital increased by 45 per cent on Black Friday this year – but it seems shoppers didn’t match this enthusiasm.”

However retailers in Wellington didn’t discount quite as much this year compared to last where discounting levels increased by 82 per cent. In line with the sales figures, Christchurch put on the biggest deals this year, with discounting levels up 176 per cent on the November average, while Auckland’s discounting increased by 23 per cent.

Fashion and apparel retailers gave the biggest discounts, and also saw the biggest spending boost, with discounting at levels 48 per cent higher than the November average, and sales values up 30 per cent. Healthy and beauty retail spending rose by 16 per cent, followed home, lifestyle and gift (11 per cent), and food and drink (3 per cent), while sports, hobbies and toy sales remained unchanged.