Black Friday Spending: A Tale of Budget-Conscious Shoppers
Black Friday, the annual shopping extravaganza, has seen a slight dip in spending compared to 2024, according to a payment company's analysis. This year's Black Friday spending was still the highest so far in 2025, but it fell short of the previous year's figures. The company, Worldline, which was formerly known as Paymark, linked EFPOS machines with bank accounts and cardholders, revealing that non-food goods sales reached $55.6 million during the pre-Christmas sale day. This represents a significant jump from the previous high of $49.1 million recorded on Easter Sunday this year.
However, a closer look at the numbers shows a 6.2% drop from last year's Black Friday and a 4.6% decrease over the three-day weekend. Worldline NZ's chief sales officer, Bruce Proffit, attributes this to consumers tightening their budgets at the end of the year. While clothing merchants saw higher spending over the weekend compared to Black Friday 2024, overall spending on non-food items was down.
Proffit highlights a shift in spending patterns, with more money spent on food and drink and less on hospitality and on-food retailers. He notes that merchants are hoping for a spending boost in the remaining weeks before Christmas, a time typically bustling with shoppers.
Despite the Black Friday spending dip, monthly figures paint a slightly more positive picture. November saw a 1.1% increase in spending across Worldline's network compared to November 2024, with the highest growth in retail spending observed in the West Coast (6.3%), Whanganui (5.4%), and Otago (5.0%). However, spending dropped in Auckland/Northland (0.3%), Wellington (1.0%), and Gisborne (1.8%).
This data suggests that while Black Friday may have been a bit quieter, the overall spending trend for the month remained positive, with some regions experiencing significant growth. As the holiday season progresses, merchants and shoppers alike will be keen to see how these spending patterns evolve and whether the final weeks of 2025 can match the excitement of previous years.
