Wellington families spent an average of $15,246 on groceries in 2024. That's $226 more than 2023. It sounds like progress, until you look at what came before.

In 2023, that same family's grocery bill jumped by $1,340. The year before, it climbed $1,007. In just two years, Wellington's annual grocery spending surged by $2,347. Last year's $226 increase feels modest only because we've been conditioned by crisis. (Source: Stats NZ, food-price-index-regional)

This is the contrast that defines 2024: the pain hasn't stopped, but the velocity has. Prices are still rising. You're still paying more every week. But the brutal, relentless acceleration that marked 2022 and 2023 has finally eased.

Look at the shape of the last five years. In 2020, Wellington families spent $12,357 on groceries. By 2022, that had climbed to $13,680, a 10.7% increase over two years. Uncomfortable, but manageable.

Then came the spike. Between 2022 and 2024, grocery spending jumped another $1,566, an 11.4% increase in just two years. The difference? Those two years hit harder because they followed immediately after pandemic-era cost increases. There was no recovery period, no breathing room.

The slowdown in 2024 matters because it marks a potential turning point. A $226 increase works out to about $4.35 a week. That's not nothing, especially if you're already stretched, but it's the first time since 2020 that the year-on-year jump has fallen below $300.

What does this mean for a Wellington family? You're spending $294 a week on groceries, compared to $289 in 2023 and $263 in 2022. The weekly pain is real. But for the first time in years, you can budget with slightly more confidence that next year won't deliver another crushing blow.

The question now is whether this slowdown holds. Wellington's grocery spending has climbed 23.4% in just four years. Even if prices plateau tomorrow, families are locked into a new baseline that's permanently higher. That $294 weekly shop isn't going back to $238, where it sat in 2020.

The cost-of-living crisis didn't end in 2024. It just stopped accelerating quite so fast. For Wellington families, that's the closest thing to relief they've had in years.