Retail card spending increases in November

Retail card spending rose $21 million (0.3 percent) in November 2022 compared with October 2022, when adjusted for seasonal effects, Stats NZ said today.

MonthActualSeasonally adjusted
Nov-1961712220005844634000
Dec-1972092060005851856000
Jan-2058914390005863448000
Feb-2056911400005900951000
Mar-2056514910005634314000
Apr-2028706080002969987000
May-2051882030005283674000
Jun-2057012300006094538000
Jul-2059689570006154506000
Aug-2054389970005720271000
Sep-2057344010006084171000
Oct-2062507220006064268000
Nov-2062560290006037095000
Dec-2074595260006012211000
Jan-2160056760005998981000
Feb-2153914440005843038000
Mar-2159373460005891997000
Apr-2159897110006164452000
May-2161297890006280005000
Jun-2159309140006329928000
Jul-2162521890006382338000
Aug-2148216250005122327000
Sep-2148780990005133296000
Oct-2157744300005644863000
Nov-2164369120006193284000
Dec-2177709840006215643000
Jan-2263464360006392325000
Feb-2254492560005913074000
Mar-2259102540005847527000
Apr-2261139270006271064000
May-2261715020006386968000
Jun-2260428420006399602000
Jul-2262210060006398680000
Aug-2261169810006464029000
Sep-2262708830006550454000
Oct-2267342720006617765000
Nov-2268953410006638747000

The increase largely came from spending on consumables, up $16 million (0.6 percent).

“The consumables spending category, which includes groceries and liquor, has been rising since July 2022,” business performance manager Ricky Ho said.

Industry (ANZSIC06)$
Consumables15847000
Durables-18131000
Apparel2792000
Motor vehicles excl. fuel-3340000
Fuel6789000
Non-retail excl. services-1451000
Services-934000

Card spending on durable items such as furniture, hardware, and appliances had the largest fall in November, down $18 million (1.1 percent).

“In recent months, the rising cost of living has seen people spending more on essentials like groceries, and less on durables like furniture and appliances,” Ho said.

Seasonally adjusted total card spending fell in November for the first time in four months, down $38 million (0.4 percent). This was largely driven by the decrease in spending on durable items.

In actual terms, total card spending was $9.3 billion, up 10.5 percent ($885 million) from November 2021. Spending on hospitality had the largest increase, up $368 million (43.6 percent) compared with November last year.

Values are only available at the national level and are not adjusted for price changes.

Electronic card transaction data covers the use of credit or debit cards in shops or online and includes both the retail and services industries.

/Stats NZ Public Release. View in full here.