Is big Christmas spending a last hurrah?

Is big Christmas spending a last hurrah?
Pre-Christmas spending has recovered from covid. (Image: Unsplash)
Rebecca Howard
Consumer spending levels point to a last hurrah before Christmas, despite the Reserve Bank governor’s bah humbug! moment. The latest data from Worldline NZ’s payments network show consumers forked over $881 million in the week to Dec 17, excluding hospitality. That was up 1.9% on the year and 14.6% higher than the same week in 2019. Worldline NZ’s chief sales officer Bruce Proffit said subsequent data suggests spending will go even higher this week, with spending on the Sunday before Christmas already up 12.1% on the...

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