Fuel and grocery retailing boosts card spending in July

Fuel and grocery retailing boosts card spending in July – Media release

10 August 2018

Consumers spent more on essentials such as fuel and groceries in July 2018, Stats NZ said today. This contributed to a 0.7 percent rise in total retail card spending in the month, when adjusted for seasonal effects.

“With a third consecutive monthly rise of around 0.7 percent, we have seen steady growth in retail card spending after the dip in April,” acting retail manager Kathy Hicks said. “The latest monthly rise mainly reflects spending on the household essentials such as fuel and groceries.”

“The rise in fuel spending was driven by higher petrol and diesel prices,” Ms Hicks added. “This lift also coincided with the introduction of the Auckland regional fuel tax, which came into effect on 1 July.”

Card spending rose in four of the six retail industries. The largest movements were:
• fuel, up $14 million (2.1 percent)
• consumables (grocery and liquor), up $11 million (0.6 percent)
• hospitality, up $5.6 million (0.5 percent).

Core retail spending (which excludes vehicle-related industries) rose 0.3 percent in July 2018, following a 0.6 percent rise in June 2018.

Actual retail spending using electronic cards was $5.2 billion in July 2018, up $222 million (4.5 percent) from July 2017.

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

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