June Retail Sales Increase

Retail Trade Survey: June 2001

Seasonally adjusted retail sales increased 1.2 per cent in June 2001, compared with May 2001, according to Statistics New Zealand. The result when combined with increases in April and May contributed to a 2.3 per cent increase for the June 2001 quarter.

Seasonally adjusted sales for the core-retailing group (excluding the motor vehicle retailing and motor vehicle services storetypes) increased 2.0 per cent, compared with the March 2001 quarter. When adjusted for price changes, volumes for the core-retailing group increased 1.3 per cent with prices rising 0.7 per cent in the June 2001 quarter. This is in contrast to the March 2001 quarter when price increases dominated the 1.9 per cent increase.

The trend in retail sales grew 6.9 per cent between the June 2000 quarter and the June 2001 quarter. This is similar to the level of growth seen in the previous June year (from the June 1999 quarter to the June 2000 quarter) when the trend increased by 6.2 per cent. With price effects removed, the trend increased by 2.2 per cent between June 2000 and June 2001, compared with 3.8 per cent in the previous June year.

Seasonally adjusted retail sales increases are broadly based this quarter with 12 of the 15 storetypes recording increases, compared with the March 2001 quarter. Food retailing made the largest contribution in dollar value to the overall $264 million increase, followed by the motor vehicle services, the motor vehicle retailing and department stores storetypes.

Seasonally adjusted sales for the motor vehicle services storetype, which is dominated by fuel retailing, increased by 4.1 per cent in the June quarter, compared with the March 2001 quarter. When adjusted for price changes, volumes are estimated to have increased 0.4 per cent with prices increasing 3.7 per cent. This is contrast to the March 2001 quarter when prices declined by 4.7 per cent and volumes were estimated to have increased by 4.6 per cent.

Brian Pink Government Statistician

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