Spending during the Easter period more than doubled compared to the same period of last year, though saw a more modest improvement on the year prior, according to data from Paymark.

Customer spending between Easter Thursday to Tuesday hit a total of $720 million – 130 per cent up on the same period of last year, when New Zealand was locked under Stage 4 restrictions.

Compared to 2019, however, spending rose only 5.1 per cent. And spending in New Zealand’s North Island rose at a faster rate than South Island, at 6.7 per cent compared to 1.2 per cent.

“Looking back at spending patterns through Paymark over the last 12 months, the impact on spending has been understandably mixed since the first Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020,” the business said.

Paymark said this discrepancy is likely to even out as international travel resumes on a larger scale.