Fitness Spending to See Least Cut Back

New Zealand consumers have been identified as being among the most resilient in the Asia/Pacific region, while their commitment to spending on fitness is higher than for any other area of discretionary spending.
These findings, from the MasterCard Worldwide Index of Consumer Purchasing Resilience, show that fitness and wellness, with a 'Resilience Index' score of 79, is the category that is most resilient to spending cutbacks among those Kiwis who said they would purchase this type of service in the next six months.
As Stuart McKinlay, Country Manager New Zealand for MasterCard Worldwide explains, "it is not surprising to see that spending on fitness and wellness - such as gym memberships, exercise classes and visiting health food stores - is important to New Zealanders as they are known for their love of the outdoors, sports and generally healthy lifestyles.
"The research shows that New Zealanders view spending on categories such as fitness and wellness and personal travel, which rates second, as more important categories than, say, fashion and accessories, where (New Zealanders) scored a lower Resilience Index (38). (Mastercard) will be interested to see whether this category retains its inelasticity in these uncertain times."
The MasterCard Worldwide Index of Consumer Purchasing Resilience measures the resilience of the top planned expenditure categories of Asia/Pacific consumers to spending cutbacks. The Index is derived from categories of goods and services that consumers would spend on in the coming six months, how important each of these categories is to consumers and if they would cut back on their discretionary spending over the next six months.
New Zealanders score of 78 was the third highest in the region following India (90) and China (88).