Actual apparel spending across New Zealand in February this year hit NZ$294 million, which is up by NZ$12 million in the same month last year.
This is according to the latest electronic card spending data from Stats NZ, which shows that total core retail spending – excluding fuel, car and services – lifted by 2.4 per cent in the same year-on-year timeframe to NZ$5.9 billion, driven by a 3.8 per cent jump in hospitality spending and a 3.1 per cent lift in consumables.
Durables spending dropped by 0.1 per cent.
Month-on-month, apparel sales dropped in February, which follows similar trajectories last year for apparel and the other three categories.
In seasonally adjusted terms, which removes heavy fluctuations such as big spending events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, apparel sales lifted by 1.9 per cent month-on-month in February 2026, with spending up 1.4 per cent compared to the same month last year.
Total core retail spending in February hit $6.36 billion in seasonally adjusted terms, driven by a large lift in hospitality month-on-month.
Peak body Retail NZ called the overall news is a much-needed boost for retailers following recent tumultuous times.
The peak body’s CEO Carolyn Young said the actual 2.4 per cent lift across core retail in February is a further improvement to the 1.1 per cent lift seen last month.
“With almost all sectors experiencing a rise in spending, this will be seen as a big win for retail, after going through several months of ups and downs last year,” Young says
“While durables saw a slight decline, down 0.1 per cent, consumables, hospitality and apparel all had a decent boost in spend, which is exactly what the retail sector needs after a bumpy end to 2025.
“The 2.1 per cent increase for apparel will be particularly encouraging to those retailers, with that sector experiencing a consistent downward trend in card spending right throughout 2025.”
However, Young said that while the year-on-year rises for consumables (3.1 per cent) and hospitality (3.8 per cent) were at or above the current rate of inflation, the overall 2.4 per cent increase for actual core retail transactions is still slightly behind that 3.1 per cent inflation figure.
“That should not take away from the good news behind this data, but it does illustrate that there is still further improvement needed before retailers can be confident the caution shoppers have been showing in their spending is, in fact, easing,” Young said.
“The conflict in Iran will also be making retailers nervous, with the steep rises in fuel likely to directly impact the amount of discretionary spending households can afford. Adding to those nerves will be another increase in the amount of credit card transactions, with a massive 71 per cent of New Zealanders now spending on credit, compared with 29 per cent on debit cards.
“So while today’s figures will put a smile on faces, retailers will remain cautious about what might be in store for them over the next few months," Young said.