Carolyn Young: Chief Executive at Retail NZ on slump in retail spending

Retailers continue to struggle along as many watch every penny spent. 

Electronic card spending data showed a 1.1% fall in October compared to last year. September was down 5.6%. 

As retailers brace for the most important season of the year, Chief Executive at Retail NZ Carolyn Young tells Heather du Plessis-Allan it may be a tough period of time. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now, retailers continue to struggle along because we're still watching
all the money that we spend. Electronic card spending data
show to one point one percent fall in October compared
to last October, and September was also down nearly six percent.
Carolyn Young is the chief executive at Retail New Zealand
and with us are.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Carolyn Cure, Heather.

Speaker 1 (00:18):
Thanks for having me, Yeah, thanks for joining us. So
when you look at this, are you bracing yourselves for
a bit of a stink Christmas period?

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Oh? Look, I'm in two minds. You know. My heart
is saying, come on, we can get our confidence back
at consumers and let's get out there and support a
local retailers. But my head is saying, you know, it's
probably going to be a tough period over the next
four or five weeks as we work our way through
to Christmas. It's not far away now, and consumer confidence

(00:46):
is still relatively subdued.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
Do you think, well, I mean, we still have one
more one more ocr cut at the end of this year.
I don't think towards the end of this month. Is
it possible, Yeah? Is it possible that it gives people
a little philip and that extra little bit to spend.

Speaker 2 (01:04):
Look it as possible. Banks usually have cut their rates
prior to the Reserve Bank because they're anticipating what's going
to happen. The challenger courses is our people in the
process where they are looking at refixing their mortgage, and
if they're not, it's that lag factor. That's the key
key piece here. And what we do know is that

(01:24):
the all of the economists are forecasting are really strong
twenty twenty five. The question is when will it turn.
Will it be February, will it be March, will it
be April. But we're expecting early twenty twenty five to
see a turn, and we really just have to survive
those next four or five months to get us there.

Speaker 1 (01:40):
So what happens if it's tight for people? Right, It's
not as if we just pretend Christmas doesn't happen. Do
we just go out and buy smaller gifts.

Speaker 2 (01:47):
That's what we're seeing. We're absolutely seeing at the moment
that the average sale price is down across the country
and so people are making are spending, but it's spending
a small amount than what they had been in the past.
I think families will will make decisions around what they
spend on and whether that's on essentials to have a

(02:09):
great Christmas barbecue or a ham or whatever, it might
be one of those special treats and they may decide
to spend this on presents and gifts for potentially adults
or parts of the family. So you know, we know
that it's tough out there and people will need to
make choices.

Speaker 1 (02:26):
He are you getting anywhere with Wellington City Council and
putting the brakes on the Goldemart.

Speaker 2 (02:31):
It's a really interesting creation headed because we have been
trying to engage with Wellingam City Council and they just
recently canceled a meeting on us that was forecast for
this week. So pretty disappointed was we were at at
the moment. But we're still pushing ahead and you know,
making sure that we speak out on behalf of retailers
and hospitality around what it is that we need in
the city for it to be thriving, and that's certainly

(02:53):
not more disruption for two or three years.

Speaker 1 (02:56):
Yeah, good luck with that. I really hope you guys
get your way with it. As Caroline Young, who's the
chief executive at Retail New Zealand. For more from Heather
Duplessy Allen Drive. Listen live to News Talks at B
from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio