Spending on Black Friday declined versus 2024, according to a payments company.
Core finding
Shoppers tightened their budgets, which appears to have reduced overall Black Friday spending, though it remained the biggest spending day of the year so far. In 2025, Black Friday spending on non-food items across the company’s network reached $55.6 million during the pre-Christmas sale, up from $49.1 million on Easter Sunday earlier in the year, but still down 6.2% from Black Friday 2024 and down 4.6% over the entire three-day weekend.
What the company observed
- Worldline NZ linked EFPOS terminals with bank accounts and cardholders (the entity formerly operated as Paymark).
- For the pre-Christmas weekend, non-food goods purchases totaled $55.6 million, indicating ongoing consumer activity despite tighter budgets. This represented growth relative to the Easter Sunday peak of $49.1 million but a decline when compared year-over-year.
- The weekend showed a shift in spending patterns: more money on clothing than in Black Friday 2024, but less spending across other non-food categories. Food and drink spending rose, hospitality spending fell, and non-food retailers saw reduced spend.
- Merchants are hopeful that spending will rebound in the remaining weeks before Christmas.
Monthly trends
- November as a whole saw $40.09 billion spent across Worldline’s network, a 1.1% increase versus November 2024.
- Regional differences emerged: West Coast (+6.3%), Whanganui (+5.4%), and Otago (+5.0%) saw the strongest growth in retail spending; Auckland/Northland (-0.3%), Wellington (-1.0%), and Gisborne (-1.8%) experienced declines.
Why this matters
- The data suggests that consumer budgets remained tight as the year-end shopping period progressed, influencing the mix of products purchased and overall spend.
- Retailers may need to adjust promotions and inventory in the coming weeks to stimulate growth before Christmas, particularly in areas with softer spending.
- Regional performance highlights where opportunity or risk may lie, guiding targeted marketing and inventory decisions.
Note: Figures reflect spending across Worldline’s network for non-food items during Black Friday and the broader November period, with year-over-year comparisons and regional variances to provide context on shifting consumer behavior.
