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# Record Boxing Day sales amid mounting financial pressure
- URL: https://goodoil.news/record-boxing-day-sales-amid-mounting-financial-pressure/
- Published: 2025-01-01T18:55:01.000Z
- Updated: 2025-01-01T20:46:45.000Z
- Description: Happy Holidays! Brought you by Visa.
- Author: Centrist
- Tags: News

Summarised by [Centrist](http://centrist.nz/?ref=goodoil.news)

**Boxing Day sales were up by 13% this year, with New Zealanders spending nearly $68m. This is in contrast to subdued pre-Christmas activity, which dropped nearly 1% compared to 2023\. Shoppers hit up bookshops, clothing stores, and hardware outlets, according to payment processor Worldline.** 

**Bruce Proffit, the company’s chief sales officer, noted that this rebound follows a challenging year marked by economic pressures like Cyclone Gabrielle.**

However, recent data suggests that debt is underpinning much of this holiday spending. Auckland based credit reporting agency Centrix reports that consumer arrears rose to 12.14% in October, affecting 461,000 Kiwis, while mortgage arrears climbed 10% year-on-year. Financial hardship cases increased by 20%, and Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services saw a spike during the festive season. 

In November 2024, total credit card spending fell by 4.5% year-on-year to $3.7b, while total credit card debts dropped by over $6b in the past year, [down about 2% annually](https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/-/media/project/sites/rbnz/files/statistics/series/shared/c12-13/2024/credit-card-key-points-november-2024.pdf?ref=goodoil.news). Despite these declines, credit limit utilisation rose to 30%, reflecting tighter budgets and increased reliance on available credit​.

Businesses are also feeling the pressure, with credit defaults rising 16% and company liquidations up 27% year-on-year. Wholesale trade has been hit hard, with insolvencies in grocery, machinery, and furniture sectors rising by 82%.

**Read more over at** [**RNZ**](https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/537670/boxing-day-sales-spend-up-13-percent-in-nz?ref=goodoil.news) **and** [**Centrix**](https://www.centrix.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Centrix%5FCredit-Indicator-Report%5FNovember-24%5FFINALL.pdf?ref=goodoil.news)

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