Consumer spending in New Zealand has inched up for the first time since March 2024, according to Worldline NZ figures.

Core Retail merchants in the company’s payments network recorded $3.60B in transactions this June, up 0.8% on the same month last year after adjusting for changes in the network.

Worldline NZ Chief Sales Officer Bruce Proffit says this follows similar modest lifts in April and May, making the June quarter the first to show annual growth in more than a year.

The 1.2% growth for the quarter might be small, he says, but it could mark a turning point for the rest of 2025.

June is typically the slowest month for retailers, and this year’s calendar shift meant one fewer Saturday.

Even so, Proffit says it was encouraging to see a positive result.

Hospitality spending told a different story, falling 2.4% year-on-year to $0.85B.

Auckland and Northland saw the sharpest drop at 4.3%, while Nelson’s slight fall of 0.5% was largely due to severe weather late in the month.

Waikato bucked the trend with a 3.3% rise, helped by the annual Fieldays event in Hamilton.

Within Core Retail, Whanganui saw the strongest June growth at 6.9%, followed by Taranaki at 4.1% and Nelson at 4.0%.

Spending slipped in Wellington (down 1.8%) and Auckland/Northland (down 0.7%).

For Hibiscus Coast shoppers and business owners, these figures reflect the broader Auckland/Northland decline, but the national lift suggests confidence might slowly be returning to tills.

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