July heralds the start of the financial year for many, and it’s encouraging to see spend rise again, when compared to July last year. This July, spend rose 1.1%, and is particularly welcomed news given it’s the first green shoot we have seen since January.

Key insights for July 2025

• Consumer spending increased by +1.1% this month when compared to July 2024, while transactions dropped -0.2%. This potentially reflects how consumers are trying to reduce their spend but the cost of goods and services are forcing their hand.

• International visitors continue to spend more than the same time last year, this July up +17.2%. Interestingly, Internationals’ transactions grew by more than their spend (+26.0%), indicating they are making smaller value transactions.

• Groceries & Liquor upped the ante and grew by a whopping +5.9% this month while transactions only grew 2.0%, reinforcing the higher cost of many staples.

• A storetype breakdown is detailed in the table below:

Mixed Messages about Hospitality

The hospitality scene is near and dear to many of us. We all have our favourite cafes and pubs and have an opinion of what’s good or not! However, with the biting winter conditions at present and (at the risk of sounding repetitive) that dang cost of living crisis, unless we are out for events or travelling, it can often be hard to leave the house.

Hospitality grew by +1.3% this month (and up 0.7% over the last 12 months). Considering the recent weather and the wider economic climate, this result should be seen as a positive.

However, as to be expected, these results aren’t shared equally amongst all. Recent growth is being driven by the smaller areas at the expense of the larger urban areas. By urban areas, we mean the 10 largest hospitality areas in New Zealand – Auckland, Christchurch, Manukau, Wellington, and North Shore Cities, Queenstown-Lakes District, and Hamilton, Waitakere, Tauranga and Dunedin Cities.

Of these, Auckland and Wellington, two of the more prominent eating-out scenes, have been doing it tough this year. On the bright side, the Wellington Region experienced an increase of +2.4% this month (1.7% in Wellington City). But look at their last 12 months, and you see the impact of the WFH lifestyle and the large-scale public sector cuts impacting ability and opportunity to indulge on eating out. Auckland is in a worse state, with growth in hospitality last seen six months ago.

Meanwhile, locations like Northland, Waikato and Southland regions have all experienced sustained monthly growth for much of the last twelve months.

Wellington on a Plate and Auckland’s Restaurant Month are both currently in full swing. The Cuisine Awards were also recently announced. May these invigorating events and inspiring award recipients spur people on to go out and have a taste. Bon appétit!