Retailers remain cautious despite a bump in card spending over the New Year period

Retailers remain cautious despite a bump in card spending over the New Year period

16 February 2026
Stats NZ data for January shows retail card spending rose by 1.1 percent year-on-year.

Retail NZ CEO Carolyn Young says spending figures in January last year were very low.

So she says the increase is a step in the right direction, but they're not out of the woods yet.

Young says consumers are still concerned about their job prospects, with unemployment high and inflation hurting a lot of people.

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