Monthly spending across fashion in New Zealand is down 1.9 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms for July 2025.
This is according to new electronic card transaction data compiled by Stats NZ, which show total core retail spending – including hospitality, durables and consumables – has remained flat between June and July this year.
In year-on-year terms, total core retail spending lifted just 1.88 per cent from July 2024 to July 2025. In the same timeframe, fashion spending lifted by just NZ$2 million to NZ$334 million, or 0.5 per cent.
Consumables, on the other hand, lifted by 3.6 per cent, which Retail NZ CEO Carolyn Young said is most likely due to increasing prices rather than increased transactions.
From that, she thinks economic relief for New Zealand consumers can’t come soon enough for the struggling retail sector.
“We know that consumers are continuing to be careful with their spending and we have yet to see the boost expected from lower interest rates as more consumers are set to re-fix mortgages,” Young said. “Low consumer confidence is still limiting sales and retailers are keenly awaiting improvements.”
In actual terms, including fluctuations from promotional events, fashion sales across New Zealand lifted 0.4 per cent in year-on-year terms, and fell 6.2 per cent in month-on-month terms in July 2025. In actual terms, fashion sales were NZ$298 million in July 2025 .
The lowest fashion spending has been over the last two years was in February this year, which hit as low as NZ$288 million. The highest monthly spend was in December 2023, hitting NZ$536 million.
In trend terms, Stats NZ figures show fashion spending is at a low point, at least over the last two years.