Retail card spending steady in June

Retail card spending rose 0.1 percent in June 2022, when adjusted for seasonal effects, Stats NZ said today.

MonthActualsSeasonally adjusted
Jun-2057012300006088610000
Jul-2059689570006128508000
Aug-2054389970005704567000
Sep-2057344010006091614000
Oct-2062507220006081514000
Nov-2062560290006052204000
Dec-2074595260006020768000
Jan-2160056760006000955000
Feb-2153914440005848955000
Mar-2159373460005892286000
Apr-2159897110006163344000
May-2161297890006269546000
Jun-2159309140006317182000
Jul-2162521890006349144000
Aug-2148216250005107514000
Sep-2148780990005142378000
Oct-2157744300005667204000
Nov-2164369120006213768000
Dec-2177709840006226923000
Jan-2263464360006392999000
Feb-2254492560005919688000
Mar-2259102540005848159000
Apr-2261139270006264002000
May-2261715020006377605000
Jun-2260428420006382112000

Compared with May 2022, spending fell across most retail industries. The only increase came from the fuel industry, which was up $18 million (2.9 percent).

“This increase is likely influenced by higher fuel prices at the pump,” business performance manager Ricky Ho said. “Fuel spending accounted for the slight increase in retail card spending in June.”

Industry (ANZSIC06)$
Consumables-6530000
Durables-9964000
Apparel-418000
Motor Vehicles excl. fuel-3335000
Fuel18378000

Electronic card spending in the core retail industry (excluding vehicle-related industries) fell 0.3 percent in June, after experiencing a slight increase (0.9 percent) in the previous month. Core retail includes consumables (eg groceries and liquor), durables (eg furniture, hardware, and appliances), and apparel (eg clothing and footwear).

In actual terms, total retail spending using electronic cards reached $6.0 billion, up $112 million (1.9 percent) from June 2021.

June quarter results show retail card spending increasing

Seasonally adjusted retail spending increased by $648 million (3.8 percent) in the June 2022 quarter, following a small 1.6 percent rise in the March 2022 quarter.

“Retail card spending increased across all retail industries in the June quarter,” Mr Ho said.

“People were spending more on a range of items such as clothing, food and liquor, and fuel.”

Actual retail spending using electronic cards was $18 billion in the June quarter, up $278 million (1.5 percent) from the June 2021 quarter.

The electronic card transactions series covers all debit, credit, and charge card transactions with New Zealand-based merchants. It can be used to indicate changes in consumer spending and economic activity.

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

/Stats NZ Public Release. View in full here.