The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is digging deep into its pockets again.

The business super-ministry is showing no signs of slowing down its spending spree after forking out about $200,000 for a "useless app".

And it plans to scrap the printed version of an important economic report, in favour of the app, which has barely any users.

The app also has few reviews that appear to have mostly been written by people who worked on the app and MBIE staff.

Parliamentary documents revealed the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) coughed up $198,067.30 to Alphero - an external provider - to develop the New Zealand Regions mobile app.

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The app was launched to promote the Regional Economic Activity Report and was designed to provide easy to understand economic performance statistics to stakeholders and interested New Zealanders.

MBIE labour market trends senior analyst Ben Wallace said the app, which was launched in October, had been downloaded about 1600 times.

The documents show between October 15, 2015 and November 29, 2015, the app was downloaded 721 times from the iTunes store, and 357 times from the Google Play store.

Wallace said the app would regularly be updated with information and he expected people would use it more often each time new data was released, particularly Statistics New Zealand's regional GDP figures in March.

MBIE planned "inexpensive" social media campaigns around the time of key information releases, he said.

The Ministry intended to discontinue the printed Regional Economic Activity report once enough stakeholders started using it, which would save the annual printing cost, he said.

He said this was the same approach MBIE had taken with its Occupation Outlook app, which was now in its third year.

The region app would only require minor modifications, so much of the money spent was a one-off, to set it up, he said.

The app also has few reviews that appear to have mostly been written by people who worked on the app, and MBIE staff.

Alphero's principal consultant Craig Eades said the company developed the app and did a little bit of analytic work.

MBIE managed the app updates, which they did when new data became available. Only MBIE could provide user data, he said.

The company's director Caroline Dewe said the app was currently being updated.

In a written parliamentary answer to Labour MP David Clark, Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce, said as at November 29, MBIE had spent $1946.78 promoting the app.

Clark, Labour's economic development spokesperson, said no one in the real world would download an app to look at information they can find more easily on the internet.

"This is just expensive window dressing. Most apps cost just $1. This one has cost the taxpayer $200 for each download."

In a written answer to Green MP Julie Anne Genter, Joyce said there were also in-house costs associated with the app.

However, these could not be separately apportioned to the mobile app development, he said.

"It is expected the app will be used and re-issued over a number of years, with minor enhancements each year," he said.

In June 2015, MBIE came under fire after it emerged it had spent more than $67,000 on a new sign in front of its Stout St headquarters and $140,000 on a 3.5m curved screen in its reception.

MBIE's makeover also included $360,000 on furniture, $260,000 on a sundeck and hair straighteners in the female bathrooms.

In August last year, it was revealed the ministry spent $560,000 overhauling its new website.

The ministry also skipped out on a big Christmas party last year after it was revealed it spent $26,000 on the annual celebration in 2014.

Last week, it was revealed Joyce's New Zealand Trade and Enterprise agency spent $30,000 on pounamu pendants for staff.