Eating and entertainment are the main priorities for New Zealanders looking to spend their pocket money, a credit card company survey suggests.MasterCard's worldwide survey of consumer purchasing priorities for the first half of 2010 found 59 percent of p
Eating and entertainment are the main priorities for New Zealanders looking to spend their pocket money, a credit card company survey suggests.
MasterCard's worldwide survey of consumer purchasing priorities for the first half of 2010 found 59 percent of people surveyed prioritised dining and entertainment.
Spending on fashion and accessories followed, with 47 percent.
Thirty-six percent favoured buying consumer electronics, and 32 percent prioritised health.
The rising number of people wanting to eat and be entertained could be due to people wanting "to treat themselves, after a conservative 2009 [which] saw them tightening purse strings as the global economy cooled and confidence softened", MasterCard's New Zealand manager Stuart McKinlay said.
Though stressing the figures did not represent MasterCard's actual financial performance, "economic indicators point toward improving sentiment. People are heading back into the shops to buy items that either entertain or make life easier", he said.
Dining and entertainment rated in the top two spending priorities across all 14 of the Asia-Pacific countries the company surveyed people in -- and was the highest-ranked priority in 12 of them.
The survey found the sector least prone to spending cutbacks to be health and fitness, followed by travel and, again, dining and entertainment.
Market researchers surveyed 10,623 consumers from across Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa regions, Mr McKinlay said.
