Meanwhile, 49% of Christchurch businesses surveyed said they had introduced a new product or service in the last year, compared with 38% nationally.
The report suggested businesses were investing in their future rather than simply managing the present.
Just 2% reported being less productive than they were a year ago, compared with 12% nationally.
However, overall, the research showed an increasing number of New Zealand businesses appear to be giving up on a return to “normal”.
Among businesses feeling more optimistic than last year, 21% cited being back to normal or better after the Covid pandemic as a reason, down from 36% in last year’s survey.
2degrees CEO Mark Callander said a clear theme he took out of the survey was that businesses were no longer waiting for a rebound.
“No one’s waiting for green shoots to emerge any more.
“We were kind of joking [earlier] about ‘thrive to 25’, you know that seems like two years ago.”
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