Card spending rises in all core retail industries

Shoppers in New Zealand spent more with their credit and debit cards in November 2012 compared with the previous month, Statistics New Zealand said today.

After adjusting for seasonal effects, card spending in the core retail industries increased 1.0 percent. There were increases in all four core retail industries. Core retail excludes the motor vehicle-related industries.

"November's increase in core retail spending was the largest since January 2012," industry and labour statistics manager Tehseen Islam said.

"Most of the increase came from extra spending in the durables and hospitality industries."

Spending on durables (which includes furniture, hardware, and appliance retailing) was up 1.6 percent ($17 million). Hospitality (which includes accommodation, bars, cafes, and restaurants) was up 2.6 percent ($16 million).

Total retail (which includes the motor vehicle-related industries) increased 0.5 percent in November 2012.

Fuel was the only retail industry to fall this month, down 0.8 percent ($6 million).

Total electronic card spending increased 0.7 percent in November 2012.

The trends for the total and total retail series have both generally been increasing since these series began in October 2002, but have weakened since mid-2012. The core retail trend has also generally been increasing, but has been flat since June 2012.

See also:
Electronic Card Transactions: November 2012  –  Information release