Kiwis to spend and forget

Kiwis will splash the cash on entertainment and dining out as a means of putting a miserable 2009 behind them, says credit card company MasterCard.

According to the latest MasterCard Worldwide Survey of Consumer Purchasing Priorities, posh nosh, high-street fashion labels and state-of-the-art electronics top the shopping lists for New Zealanders in the first half of 2010.

MasterCard country manager Stuart McKinlay said it was interesting to see how New Zealanders were looking to spend their money in the year ahead given how tough 2009 had been.

This might reflect that people see the coming year as a chance to treat themselves, after a conservative 2009 saw them tightening purse strings as the global economy cooled and confidence softened.

Good news too for the property and building industries after a third of all respondents to the twice-yearly poll revealed that they planned to buy or renovate a home in the first six months of 2010.