Latest Card Spending Data Shows Kiwis Have Cut Fuel Usage

The latest electronic card spending data from Stats NZ shows New Zealanders are heeding the call to cut back on fuel consumption, with discretionary travel – and retail as a destination – taking a hit, Retail NZ Chief Executive, Carolyn Young, says.

Stats NZ figures released today shows the overall card spend on total retail for March was up 2.7% compared to March 2025 with fuel up 10.2% to $583 million.

“New Zealanders spent $583 million on fuel last month, which on its face looks like a sizable jump from the $460 million spent in February,” Ms Young says.

“However, March is always the country’s biggest month for fuel usage. So, if you compare last month’s fuel spend to the amount spent in March 2024 ($591 million), for example, we see a decline, despite the cost of petrol and diesel being much, much higher.”

The average cost of diesel in March 2024 was $2.17 per litre, while the March 2026 average was $2.61 per litre. For 91 unleaded, the average cost in March 2024 was $2.80 per litre, while last month it was $2.98 per litre.* April averages are certain to be considerably higher again.

“In reality, we would have expected to see the amount spent on fuel last month to have increased beyond $600 million if New Zealanders did not change their fuel using habits,” Ms Young says.

“These numbers show us that people are cutting back on their discretionary travel, which is now impacting retailers.”

Ms Young says while these numbers show us that March was overall positive, that was likely buoyed by a promising start to the month, which is masking the hit many retailers have taken.

“We can see spending in apparel took a nosedive, down -4.2%, after some promising signs at the start of the year. We know apparel is always the first sector to feel the hit when the economy turns, with shoppers needing to spend that money on essentials like fuel and groceries instead,” Ms Young says.

“Just like shoppers, retailers are having to bear the impacts of increased fuel prices, not just in freight but in a range of other retail services like rubbish and recycling collection. Additionally, we are hearing from our members that the caution being seen at the pump is now flowing through to an overall drop in discretionary spending in retail in April.”

Note: 

*These numbers were calculated by taking the weekly prices from MBIE and converting those to monthly averages

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