Spending in Huntly, Raglan and Waikato District
Spend in Huntly, Raglan and Waikato District over the last 24 months with year end June 2025.
Karioi Classic Cycling Event 2025
Karioi Classic cycling event 2025 â the impact of Karioi Classic event on Raglan retail 25th to 27th July 2025.Â
Raglan Arts Weekend and Blues Music Festival
Raglan Arts Weekend and Blues Music Festival â the impact of these events on Raglan Retail Labour Weekend 25th â 27th October 2025.
Sound Splash 2026
Soundsplash Music Festival â the impact of Sounsplash event on Raglan retail 16th to 18th January 2026.Â
Notes
Over the three-day period (Friday to Sunday 16-18 January 2026) the total retail spend of $995,777 was down slightly (by 1.9%) compared to the same three days âlast weekâ, and 3.5% less than âlast yearâ when Soundsplash 2025 was held. In real terms, the reduction will be more like 6.5% given CPI inflation of around 3% over the past 12 months. Although Soundsplash may not appear to have much effect on retail spend compared to other weekends in the high-season month of January, it was still significantly higher (35%) than ânext weekâ (23-25 January 2026) which coincided with most days of the Anniversary long weekend.Â
Note also that the Marketview data does not include payments for tickets, accommodation or transport made in advance of the event. Nor does it include any payments for Airbnb type accommodation, implying the retail spend data provides only a partial measure of the total economic impact of the event on Raglan.
Notes
The event clearly brought an influx of visitors and spending in Raglan from Auckland, Bay of Plenty, and the Rest of NZ, reflected in big percentage increases in their spend of 56.6% -83.7% compared to ‘last week’, and 63.1% – 215% compared to ‘next weekâ. Those three sources of customers contributed 40% of the total retail spend of $995,777 during the event period, compared to 25% during the week before.Â
At the same time the figures suggest there was a degree of crowding-out of spend during the event period by locals from Raglan and others from Waikato District and the wider Waikato region – with their spend down compared to ‘last week’ by 16.3% and 26.9% respectively. Itâs not surprising that some locals avoided cafes/bars and supermarkets that weekend, but their spend likely shifted to the week before or has been postponed until quieter days after Soundsplash and Anniversary weekend.Â
Notes
All retail categories experienced lower spend during Soundsplash 2026 compared to 2025 (âlast yearâ), except for Cafes, Restaurants, Bars and Takeaways – which were up by 6.5%. While all categories enjoyed increased spend compared to the ânext weekâ Anniversary weekend, there were marked changes in the pattern of spend compared to the same three days âlast weekâ â with 8.9% less spend in Cafes, Restaurants, Bars and Takeaways, and an 8.8% increase in Other Consumer (including Accommodation, Transport and Performing Arts etc.). The total spend of close to $996,000 masks the ups and downs but they are consistent with Waikato locals spending less than usual during Soundsplash and visitors from other regions spending more.Â