Much of our work centres on examining the relationships between supply and demand across sectoral markets and locations. We also have considerable expertise in assessing the economic, social and environmental impact of events, developments and policy decisions. Further, our analysis and interpretation expertise, combined with our public sector experience, puts us in the ideal position to contribute to the planning and policy making process. Market Economics Ltd also has a unique knowledge base in the field of ecological economics.

Our work frequently begins with rigorous, in-depth and innovative data analysis and modelling techniques, which enables us to evaluate situations and produce results at both the strategic macro and detailed micro levels.

In the private sector, we specialise in assessments of the retail sector and have also undertaken significant work in the commercial, industrial and residential property sectors. Our public sector work spans both central and local government, with particular expertise in the fields of economics, retail, tourism, leisure, transport, infrastructure and the environment. We also have considerable experience as expert witnesses and peer reviewers.

Latest news and developments

Paraparaumu Airport - Success in the Environment Court

Market Economics recently presented evidence in the Environment Court supporting a proposal by Paraparaumu Airport Limited to introduce new zoning provisions to the Kapiti Coast District Plan for the airport land.  Our evidence addressed the economic importance of the airport within the District’s economy, future economic and population growth both with and without the airport development, and the demonstrated need for development of commercial activities, including large format retail, to generate revenue to support the continued functioning of the airport.  

Our assessment showed that the airport required commercial activity on underutilised airport land to financially support the runway upgrades required to enable Air NZ domestic flights to commence, and that the large format retail development planned for the airport environs was unlikely to cause significant adverse impacts on the existing Kapiti Coast town centre.  At council hearing level we caucused with other retail and economic experts to design a range of floorspace and staging rules to ensure that the proposed development would not undermine the existing town centre, acknowledging possible plans for retail expansion on the fringe of the existing centre.  

The outcome of both the council hearing and Environment Court hearing was in favour of Paraparaumu Airport Limited.  This means that Paraparaumu Airport will be able to upgrade their airport to cater for domestic Air NZ flights by expanding the range of activities co-locating alongside the airport, providing more jobs for the local economy and helping to reduce the amount of commuting out of the district for work opportunities.

Introducing GeoSpend -  for local demand insights and forecasts

If your business relies on understanding the marketplace – where consumers of your product live, gaps in the market or changing trends – Geospend can help you get the competitive edge, whether it be marketing now or planning for the future. 

Market Economics’ Geospend data is an intelligent new way of seeing the demand for retail and services on the ground and  provides a foundation to support decisions about planning for retail and service provision.

This type of information has previously only been available in New Zealand through specific one-off studies.   Using GeoSpend retail and service organisations now have access to a readily avaialble data resource that can be mined when needed for insights into local market demand and enable more finely tuned market analysis and planning.

As well as informing users about the current state of the retail and service market Geospend also provides forecasts of how demand is likely to change in the future, based on what we know about population growth and trends in household spending.

Geospend data is customised to your area of interest, and is available for all or parts of New Zealand.  You can choose how many different store or products types you want data for, and receive category sub-totals to see where you sit in the market.  Data can be aggregated to any catchment you define. Cross-tabulations of product type by store type may also be available, on request.

Geospend uses Statistics NZ survey data, calibrated to match total national sales for each activity.  The data allows for differences in demographic composition of populations across the country, and factors in business and tourist spend to complete the picture of what’s going on in your marketplace. 

Data is presented at a detailed, customisable spatial resolution and for a wide range of store and product types, and is provided through MapInfo’s Anysite software package.  Geospend is being distributed in conjunction with Critchlow, NZ’s only MapInfo distributor. 

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