A review of consumer spending trends in 2018 confirms the growing popularity of Black Friday and Cyber Monday in New Zealand.

Paymark’s inaugural Year in Review report found that consumers spent a total of $238.2 million on Black Friday last year, an 8.8 per cent increase over 2017. Spending on non-food retailers was up 20.2 per cent to $69.7 million.

“What had been a minor but interesting US-based shopping event took on a life of its own and has dramatically reshaped the busiest shopping season for retailers in New Zealand,” Paymark chief executive Liam O’Reilly said about Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Grocery retail saw a 5 per cent increase in transaction volume to $4.6 billion during the fourth quarter of 2018, while ‘personal’ spending – spending at department stores, clothing, sports retail, electronics and pharmacies – grew by 4.2 per cent to $2.4 billion.

Additionally, the report notes that new customers tend to spend less than half of what returning customers spend, stating that “retailers should be taking care of their regulars.”

The data shown in the report indicates that retailers that focus on looking after existing customers are likely to outperform those that concentrate on attracting new business.

And, while online shopping is growing quickly, it is not yet taking a large chunk out of bricks-and-mortar retailers, according to the report.

Kiwis spent $4.3 billion online over 2018, an increase of 12.2 per cent on 2017, but this only accounted for 7.2 per cent of total Paymark spending.