Tills ringing long and loud as Waikato claims top spot for retail spending

Tuesday, 9 June 2026

Waikato led retail spending growth nationwide last month, coinciding with a lift in tractor registrations and interest in farming equipment from farmers.

New Paymark data shows annual retail spending growth was strongest in the Waikato region with transactions reaching $329 million in May - a 4.6% increase compared to the same period last year.

Retail and farming experts have credited the lift in spending to higher spends per transaction, alongside strong returns in the farming sector trickling down to the wider regional economy.

Paymark chief sales officer Bruce Proffit said Waikato was bucking the nationwide trend of falling transactions.

He attributed growth to an increased regional population, new stores opening, and underlying inflationary pressures, particularly for food, hospitality, and liquor merchants.

While confidence in the farming sector would not have a direct effect on retail spending across the Waikato, it was likely having a “trickle down” effect.

He added Canterbury, also a farming region, was the only other area to see a marked increase in retail spending in May.

“I think that probably indicates that the farming communities are certainly contributing to the economy at the moment.”

While retail spend in certain regions was expected to stagnate, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Auckland, and Canterbury would likely see growth in the coming months, Proffit said.

“We don't see any reason for this trend to stop for Waikato.”

“It's fair to say that the Waikato region can stay fairly optimistic and buoyant.”

Power Farming chief executive Tom Ruddenklau told Waikato Times the farming sector was in “pretty good health”, with farmers feeling cautiously confident.

The agricultural sector has seen strong returns, with wool prices reaching a 15-year high, continued demand for dairy, and Fonterra’s $4.22 billion sale of Mainland Group resulting in a payout for shareholding farmers.

Despite the capital boost, he said, farmers remained calculated as to how to use funds.

“The good thing about farming in New Zealand is that, particularly in dairy for example, the more you put in, the more you get out,” he said.

“Farmers are willing to invest in their inputs a bit more because they can see continuity of returns.”

He had seen a 35% increase in inquiries into farming equipment and a 10% rise in tractor registrations to date compared to last year, he said.

While it was a buyer’s market the sector had seen marked inflationary pressure on farm machinery, meaning farmers were being considered about what they were buying and why.

He said it was good to see “pockets of rural New Zealand where there's good prosperity and cautious optimism”.

“I think in the world of uncertainty that exists, it's great to have this sort of solid backbone that keeps us stable as a nation.“

Waikato Chamber of Commerce chief executive Don Good said the figures from Paymark reinforced the region’s position as “a powerhouse of the New Zealand economy”.

However he did not believe confidence within the rural sector had been reflected in the region’s wider retail spending as of yet.

“It's great to see consumer spending up and that Waikato is so strong, but we've yet to see the effect of the boom in farmer export receipts translate into consumer spending.”

“Fieldays, I think, will be a bellwether for the whole economy - if farmers are prepared to spend prudently, the whole economy will see a lift.”

Strong results in Canterbury, underpinned by Christchurch’s new stadium Te Kaha, reinforced how crucial the event industry was to regions, he added.

Having started off with improved trading conditions at the beginning of the year, the oil crisis had dampened some businessowners’ expectations, Good said. However, he was hearing some “exceptional results” from local companies.

“What we're also seeing is Waikato has a particularly resilient business economy and a lot of businesses are just simply getting on with what they have to do to survive and thrive.”

Hamilton Central Business Association general, manager Vanessa Williams, said businesses were experiencing a mixture of good and bad days, with owners telling her there was not much “rhyme or reason” to spending in the current climate.

She attributed Waikato’s strong retail growth performance to its calendar of events in the first quarter.

“It’d be interesting to track [retail growth] against things like events and see how much impact that’s had over that time,” she said, adding she was hopeful momentum would continue into June.