Post-lockdown retail card spending picks up

The rise in retail card spending was boosted by sales of furniture, hardware, and appliances, Stats NZ said today.

“For a third consecutive month, card spending on the long-lasting goods (durables) remained at higher levels than last year, after falling sharply during April’s COVID-19 lockdown when stores were shut,” retail statistics manager Kathy Hicks said.

In actual terms, spending on durables had the largest retail industry increase, up $259 million (20 percent) compared with July 2019.

Month2017/20182018/20192019/2020
Aug115112000012276650001302890000
Sep118693500012604500001294944000
Oct131361900014020800001444314000
Nov143707000015349140001676096000
Dec198246900020194190002159156000
Jan126985500013518570001433962000
Feb115351900012139090001359100000
Mar130672800013193260001349151000
Apr12347790001305936000362877000
May126820200013169200001439296000
Jun123702100012851510001595593000
Jul122988600012876350001546522000

Total retail spending

Retail spending using electronic cards reached $6.0 billion in July 2020, up $610 million (11 percent) from July 2019.

“Continued card spending in July coincides with New Zealand being in alert level 1 for a full month, with few restrictions compared with level 4 lockdown in April,” Ms Hicks said.

Month$
Jul-185255893000
Aug-185319596000
Sep-185314370000
Oct-185680681000
Nov-185874061000
Dec-186936024000
Jan-195653182000
Feb-195238730000
Mar-195754460000
Apr-195470002000
May-195520094000
Jun-195280275000
Jul-195359308000
Aug-195485007000
Sep-195345536000
Oct-195769564000
Nov-196171222000
Dec-197209206000
Jan-205891439000
Feb-205691140000
Mar-205651491000
Apr-202870608000
May-205188203000
Jun-205701230000
Jul-205968957000

Card spending rose for all but one of the six retail industries, with consumers spending more on groceries, clothing, hospitality, and cars (excluding fuel) than in July 2019.

Growth in groceries

The second highest spending increase was in supermarkets, specialised foods, and liquor stores (consumables industry), up $245 million (12 percent) compared with July 2019.

“Kiwis are continuing to spend up on groceries and beverage-related supplies following another month of loosened restrictions,” Ms Hicks said.

Hospitality looking up

Lower-level card spending, released to show the impacts of COVID-19, shows that the rise in hospitality was driven by the food and beverage services, up $92 million (11 percent) from July 2019.

“While accommodation spending remains low, New Zealanders’ increased spending on eating out throughout the July month has boosted the hospitality industry,” Ms Hicks said.

MonthAccommodationFood and beverage services
Jul-18188980000827724000
Aug-18184597000826055000
Sep-18186626000822126000
Oct-18215131000837449000
Nov-18238334000860472000
Dec-18256489000947912000
Jan-19283262000872199000
Feb-19258163000824297000
Mar-19259200000928857000
Apr-19221331000857441000
May-19177381000869461000
Jun-19163244000844267000
Jul-19186658000865520000
Aug-19186649000886725000
Sep-19186976000858385000
Oct-19213478000897189000
Nov-19239510000924391000
Dec-19258089000988596000
Jan-20284443000928529000
Feb-20262212000892875000
Mar-20162500000662446000
Apr-201281900043743000
May-2054687000564614000
Jun-20109696000823808000
Jul-20157098000957378000

“Accommodation spending saw a small rise over the month, coinciding with the July school holidays, where Kiwis had the freedom to travel domestically but were still unable to travel overseas,” Ms Hicks said.

In actual terms, accommodation spending was down $30 million (16 percent) compared with July 2019, reflecting the lack of international visitors.

Electronic card transactions: July 2020 has more information on this lower-level card spending.

At the combined hospitality industry level, retail card spending rebounded this July, up $62 million (5.9 percent) compared with July 2019. This is the largest dollar value in hospitality for a July month since the series began.

The hospitality industry includes restaurants, cafes, bars, and takeaways (food and beverage services) and hotels, motels, and holiday parks (accommodation).

Fuel sales down in July

Fuel was the only retail industry that experienced a fall in July, down $44 million (7.9 percent) from July 2019.

COVID-19 data portal shows weekly traffic counts were recovering in July.

“The lower fuel sales may partially reflect a lower price at the pump compared with the same time last year,” Ms Hicks said.

/Stats NZ Public Release. View in full here.