Spending on durables pushes up core retail – Media release
11 November 2013
Electronic card spending in the core retail industries rose 1.8 percent in October 2013, after removing seasonal
fluctuations, Statistics New Zealand said today. This follows a decrease of 1.0 percent in September 2013.
"October's increase in core retail spending was the largest since records began in October 2002," industry and labour
statistics manager Blair Cardno said.
"Durables accounted for most of the extra spending, although shoppers did spend more in all six of the retail
industries."
Durables rose $46 million (4.3 percent). This was the largest increase since the series began and followed a decrease of
$35 million (3.2 percent) in September 2013. The durables series has been volatile in recent months, but the trend has
continued to increase steadily.
Spending in total retail (which includes the motor vehicle-related industries) was up 1.4 percent in October 2013,
following a decrease of 0.9 percent in September 2013.
The value of total card transactions was up 1.1 percent, following a decrease of 0.3 percent in September 2013.
All of the trends for the total series have generally been increasing since October 2002 and remain positive.
In unadjusted terms, 116 million transactions were made across all industries in October, with an average value of $51.
The total amount spent across all transactions was $6.0 billion.
ENDS