Overview
As reported by interest.co.nz, ANZ New Zealand’s chief economist, Sharon Zollner, has described May card spending data as showing a “strong” lift, with overall card spending rising 1.8% from April and up 4.8% compared to May 2025. The data points to a broad-based rebound across nearly every spending category, with ANZ describing the monthly result as a “sharp bounce back” at discretionary type stores.
Key Insights
- Overall card spending was up 1.8% month on month in May, and up 4.8% compared to May 2025
- Hospitality spending up 3.5% month on month; hospitality makes up 15% of total card spend
- Hospitality accommodation jumped nearly 13% month on month in May after a prolonged, subdued performance
- Apparel up 2.9% month on month; apparel makes up 4% of total card spend
- Housing durables up 2.7% month on month; durables category makes up 17% of total card spend
- Bars, fast food, cafes and restaurants all saw spending increases above 2% compared to April
- Motor vehicles and fuel were down 1% in May as fuel prices retreated; however, still up 10.3% year on year
- Public transport spending up 3.6% month on month; up 7.4% year on year
- Every spending category saw higher monthly growth in May than in April
- Annual growth was positive for nearly every category
- ANZ noted that a decline in fuel prices in May appears to have freed up spending in other categories
Our Thoughts
NZ consumer spending in 2026 has delivered a result that many business owners, retailers, and hospitality operators have been waiting for. A 1.8% lift in monthly card spending, broad-based across nearly every category, is not a statistical blip. It is a signal that New Zealand households are beginning to exhale after a prolonged period of cautious, constrained behaviour. ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner put it plainly: “It seems consumers are in the mood to just get on with it.” That is a sentence worth paying attention to.
The hospitality numbers are particularly significant given the context. Just weeks after Centrix data revealed hospitality business liquidations were up 49% year on year, ANZ’s May card data shows hospitality spending rising 3.5% month on month, with accommodation jumping nearly 13% after a prolonged period of subdued performance. This does not undo the damage that has already accumulated across the sector. Businesses that have already closed cannot benefit from a May spending rebound. But it does suggest that for operators still standing, conditions may finally be shifting in their favour. Bars, fast food, cafes and restaurants all saw spending increases above 2% compared to April. Customers are coming back.
The apparel and durables categories are equally telling. A 2.9% rise in apparel spending and 2.7% growth in housing durables reflect a consumer who is starting to make purchases that were previously deferred. Clothing and household goods are classic discretionary categories: when households feel uncertain, these are among the first things to be cut. When confidence begins to return, they tend to recover relatively quickly. The fact that Zollner described durables as showing “overwhelmingly positive growth” suggests this is not a one-category story.
What is driving this? The article points to lower fuel prices as a key mechanism. When households spend less at the pump, that money does not simply disappear. It tends to flow into other areas of the economy, particularly discretionary categories. A 1% decline in motor vehicle and fuel spending in May appears to have released purchasing power that found its way into hospitality, apparel, and household goods. This is a useful reminder for business owners and economists alike that consumer behaviour is deeply interconnected: a drop in one input cost can have ripple effects that show up across completely different sectors.
For the NZ consumer spending in 2026, the annual picture is equally encouraging. Overall card spending is up 4.8% compared to May 2025. Motor vehicles and fuel, despite their monthly dip, are still up 10.3% on an annual basis. Public transport spending is up 7.4% year on year. These are not numbers consistent with an economy in contraction. They suggest that the recovery, while uneven in its distribution, has genuine momentum behind it.
The practical implication for SME owners is this: if you have been holding off on growth decisions because consumer demand felt too fragile to rely on, the May data provides a more solid foundation for planning. That does not mean expanding recklessly or assuming the recovery is locked in. It means the risk calculus has shifted. Pricing reviews, staffing decisions, and revenue projections that were built on pessimistic assumptions may now be worth revisiting with a more balanced lens.
NZ consumer spending in 2026 is telling a story of gradual, broad-based recovery. It is not yet a roaring boom. But for businesses that have made it through a genuinely difficult period, it is the kind of data that makes the next twelve months look considerably more promising than the last twelve.
Our Questions for You
- ANZ’s data shows hospitality accommodation spending jumped nearly 13% in May after prolonged weakness. Does a single strong month change your confidence in the sector, or do you need to see this sustained over several months before making staffing or investment decisions?
- Lower fuel prices appear to have freed up household spending in other categories. If fuel prices rise again in the coming months, how resilient do you think this consumer recovery will prove to be?
- Card spending data reflects those with bank accounts and cards at a single institution. How much weight should business owners give to aggregate bank data when making decisions about their own customer base, which may look quite different from the national average?
