Boxing Day sales up 6.9 per cent

Boxing Day sales up 6.9 per cent

After a month of consistently positive transaction growth retailers have enjoyed a final Christmas bonus with the value of Boxing Day transactions around the country up 6.9 per cent year-on-year.

A total of just under $106 million was spent across the country as Kiwis made their way to the shops on what is traditionally the most discounted day of the shopping calendar.

Paymark Head of Sales and Marketing, Paul Whiston, says that though Boxing Day was a good day in terms of spending growth, December as a whole has been a good month for Kiwi retailers, with steady growth across most sectors and regions.

He adds that the steady growth may have been assisted by the wealth of big sales and heavy discounts across longer periods of time than we’ve seen in previous years.

“Every year you’re going to get a group of people who always come out in force for the Boxing Day sales and this year they certainly have. The growth is not as high as we saw a few years back, which suggests perhaps that we’ve found a level of stability in the wider Christmas shopping period.

“Growth of 6.9 per cent across the country is a good positive end to the year for retailers however,” says Whiston.

Sectors to experience the biggest surges on Boxing Day this year included clothing and building/trade.

PAYMARK Regional Data Boxing Day 2011 versus 2010
Volume (000 transactions) Value of spending ($millions)
Region Last Year Current Year Volume Difference Last Year Current Year Value Difference
Auckland/Northland 684.4 717.0 4.8% $40.8 $43.5 6.7%
Waikato 138.9 147.0 5.8% $7.5 $7.9 5.8%
BOP 135.9 138.4 1.8% $7.6 $7.9 3.7%
Gisborne 22.0 21.6 -1.9% $1.1 $1.1 -4.3%
Taranaki/Taupo 43.8 45.2 3.1% $2.2 $2.3 5.3%
Hawkes Bay 49.9 48.5 -2.8% $2.8 $2.8 0.3%
Wanganui 22.0 22.1 0.3% $1.0 $1.1 0.5%
Palmerston North 54.6 58.9 7.8% $2.7 $2.9 8.4%
Wairarapa 16.4 17.2 4.6% $0.8 $0.9 2.7%
Wellington 154.0 171.9 11.6% $8.7 $9.6 10.0%
Nelson 36.2 37.7 4.1% $2.1 $2.2 7.5%
Marlborough 21.9 23.0 5.1% $1.3 $1.4 4.8%
West Coast 13.3 13.4 1.0% $0.8 $0.9 11.9%
Canterbury 175.9 176.3 0.2% $9.9 $10.7 7.7%
South Canterbury 28.1 29.0 3.4% $1.6 $1.8 8.5%
Otago 90.2 97.6 8.2% $5.5 $6.2 12.3%
Southland 41.0 43.8 6.8% $2.5 $2.8 12.1%
New Zealand 1,728.6 1,808.5 4.6% $98.9 $105.8 6.9%
(growth rate this time last year) -6.7% -2.8%

About Paymark
In November 2009, Paymark celebrated a significant business, retail, and economic milestone with the celebration of its 20th birthday. Since its inception in 1989 when three banks came together to form Electronic Transaction Services Limited (now known as Paymark Limited), Paymark has grown to become an integral part of New Zealand’s economic landscape with arguably the best EFTPOS system in the world.

Quick facts:
- By March 1990 volumes through the network exceeded 1 million transactions a month
- 1994 the company increased its computer processing power to accommodate volumes exceeding 10 million transactions a month
- 28 August 1996, Paymark makes history by installing an off-shore EFTPOS terminal at a general store, Scott Base, Antarctica
- In 1998 Paymark passed another milestone as the 1 billionth EFTPOS transaction was processed
- More than 74,000 merchants and 116,000 terminals are currently connected to the network that is now 3DES and EMV compliant. Today, the Paymark network processes over 75% of all electronic transactions in the New Zealand retail market on behalf of more than 50 card issuers and acquirers.

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