Black Friday brings small-fry sales increase for NZ stores

Black Friday brings small-fry sales increase for NZ stores

New Zealand retailers see 5% rise in sales in-store on Black Friday, with bumper spending in Christchurch

Auckland, New Zealand - 29 November 2016 - High street retailers had a minimal boost to in-store spending on Black Friday this year according to data from cloud-based point-of-sale software Vend, with a 7% increase in retail spend compared to the November average and an 8% increase on last year.

Vend’s data also showed the level of in-store discounting on Black Friday rose 13% this year compared to last.

Traditionally, Black Friday is the day for big in-store deals while Cyber Monday is when retailers promote online discounts. But in a world where online and in-store are converging, retailers this year used Black Friday as a way to drive sales across both channels.

“Black Friday is fast becoming one of the biggest retail events of the year for sales and spending in New Zealand,” says Vaughan Rowsell, Founder at Vend. “But it’s no longer just one day of big in-store deals - globally, or here in NZ. This year we saw many retailers run online promotions alongside their store-wide sales, and across the entire weekend into Cyber Monday. As competition here heats up and consumers demand flexibility in how and where they shop, it’s only natural that local retailers look at alternative ways to capture that cash.”

In the main centres, Christchurch saw the biggest jump in Black Friday retail spending this year - increasing by 15% from the average Friday in November - while in Auckland spending rose by 8%. Retail spend in Wellington on Black Friday declined by 7% year-on-year and was down 6% compared to the November average.

“Regional spending this year could very well have been impacted by the Kaikoura earthquake, as we saw sales values in Wellington spike to their highest levels for November on the 15th when people likely purchased supplies and necessities. Spending for the rest of November then declined by 6% compared to the same period last year,” says Vaughan. “This isn’t to say there was a lack of appetite from Wellington retailers - discounting in the capital increased by 45% on Black Friday this year - but it seems shoppers didn’t match this enthusiasm.”

However retailers in Wellington didn’t discount quite as much this year compared to last where discounting levels increased by 82%. In line with the sales figures, Christchurch put on the biggest deals this year, with discounting levels up 176% on the November average, while Auckland’s discounting increased by 23%.

Fashion and apparel retailers gave the biggest discounts, and also saw the biggest spending boost, with discounting at levels 48% higher than the November average, and sales values up 30%. Healthy and beauty retail spending rose by 16%, followed home, lifestyle and gift (11%), and food and drink (3%), while sports, hobbies and toy sales remained unchanged.

ENDS

About the data
Vend New Zealand in-store transactional data for Friday 27 November 2015 and Friday 25 November 2016 measured against in-store transactional data for the average Friday in November 2016.

More about Vend
Vend is cloud-based point-of-sale and retail management software that lets retailers run their business in-store, online, and on-the-go. Vend’s software includes inventory management, Ecommerce, customer loyalty, and reporting analytics. Vend integrates with payments providers including SmartPay, business applications such as Xero and Collect, and is a key retail partner in Apple’s global Mobility Partner Program. Vend is trusted by retailers in over 140 countries and is used in more than 18,000 stores worldwide. Founded in 2010, Vend has offices in Auckland, Melbourne, London, San Francisco and Toronto, and has raised more than NZ$47 million from top-tier investors. For more information, please visit: http://www.vendhq.com.

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