Retail spending up in April

Retail spending up in April

10 May 2016

Retail spending using electronic cards was $4.8 billion in April 2016, up $348 million (7.8 percent) from April 2015, Statistics New Zealand said today.

When adjusted for seasonal effects, retail spending rose 0.9 percent in April 2016 compared with March 2016. This follows a 0.1 percent rise in March.

"As was the case last month, the largest increase was in the hospitality industry," business indicators senior manager Neil Kelly said.

Spending rose in five of the six retail industries, while the consumables industry remained relatively unchanged.

The largest movements in April 2016 were:

• hospitality, up $13 million (1.5 percent)
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• fuel, up $10 million (1.8 percent)
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• vehicles (excluding fuel), up $9.8 million (6.5 percent).
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Core retail spending (which excludes the vehicle-related industries) rose 0.4 percent in April 2016, after a 0.2 percent rise in March.

The total value of electronic card spending, including the two non-retail industries (services, and other non-retail), was up 1.5 percent in April. This follows a rise of 0.5 percent in March 2016.

Trends for the total, retail, and core retail series have generally been rising since these series began in October 2002.

Values are only available at the national level, and are not adjusted for price changes.

For more information about these statistics:

• Visit Electronic Card Transactions: April 2016

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