10 July 2018
Consumers spent more across all industries in June, from food and drink to petrol, Stats NZ said today.
When adjusted for seasonal effects, retail card spending rose 0.8 percent in June 2018. This follows a 0.6 percent
increase in May.
“The lift in retail card spending was across the board, from food and liquor, furniture, hardware and appliances, petrol
and cars, as well as a bounce back in clothing and footwear,” retail statistics manager Sue Chapman said. “The pick-up
in spending on clothing and footwear, could be attributed to the start of winter.”
Spending rose across all six retail industries. The largest movements were:
• consumables, including grocery and liquor retailing, up $11 million (0.6 percent)
• fuel, up $8.6 million (1.3 percent)
• durables, including hardware, furniture, and appliances, up $5.8 million (0.5 percent)
• apparel, including clothing and footwear, up $4.3 million (1.5 percent).
Core retail spending (which excludes the vehicle-related industries) rose 0.6 percent in June 2018, after a similar
increase, up 0.6 percent, in May 2018.
Actual retail spending using electronic cards was $5.1 billion in June 2018, up $238 million (4.9 percent) from June
2017.
Values are only available at the national level, and are not adjusted for price changes.
Mixed results for the June 2018 quarter
Mixed results for retail card spending, with three industries up and three down, contributed to the relatively flat June
2018 quarter, down 0.2 percent when adjusted for seasonal effects.
Spending fell in three of the six retail industries in the June quarter. The largest fall came from the consumables
(grocery and liquor retailing) industry, down $36 million (0.6 percent). This fall follows a $88 million (1.5 percent)
rise in the March 2018 quarter.
The durables industry, which includes hardware, furniture, and appliances, was up $26 million (0.7 percent) in the June
quarter. This follows a 1.4 percent rise in the March 2018 quarter.
Core retail spending (which excludes the vehicle-related industries) was relatively flat, down 0.2 percent in the June
2018 quarter, after a 1.8 percent increase in the March 2018 quarter.
In actual terms, retail card spending was $15 billion in the June 2018 quarter up $518 million (3.5 percent) from the
June 2017 quarter.
Values are only available at the national level, and are not adjusted for price changes.
The Government Statistician authorises all statistics and data we publish.
For more information about these statistics:
• See CSV files for download
ends