Retail Spending Falls For Eighth Quarter In Row

The total volume of retail sales fell 1.9 percent in the December 2023 quarter according to figures released by Stats NZ today. This follows falls in seven consecutive quarters, after adjusting for price and seasonal effects.

Quarter	Actual	Seasonally adjusted	Trend
Dec-18	25855443000	23636948000	23527360000
Mar-19	23307559000	23761950000	23738924000
Jun-19	23185489000	23893290000	23956461000
Sep-19	23220654000	24303463000	24263053000
Dec-19	26709078000	24417434000	24386709000
Mar-20	23853477000	24351175000	24519085000
Jun-20	19925762000	20477440000	24550138000
Sep-20	25092233000	26123294000	25331820000
Dec-20	27977684000	25657594000	25687963000
Mar-21	25426654000	26143032000	26292843000
Jun-21	26511665000	27179481000	26573352000
Sep-21	23802707000	24728651000	26744242000
Dec-21	29199341000	26819239000	26769489000
Mar-22	26007411000	26722698000	26942615000
Jun-22	25535164000	26189751000	26704582000
Sep-22	24969369000	25954733000	25867269000
Dec-22	28026047000	25700845000	25694677000
Mar-23	24939197000	25488596000	25506120000
Jun-23	24630447000	25343291000	25402212000
Sep-23	24113270000	25151009000	25111368000
Dec-23	26874739000	24662778000	24702236000

“Ongoing falls in retail activity over the last two years were marked by a fall in most industries in the December quarter,” business financial statistics manager Melissa McKenzie said.

“Industry (ANZSIC06)”	“$”
“Pharmaceutical and other store-based retailing”	” 5436000″
“Liquor retailing”	” -1194000″
“Non-store and commission-based retailing”	” -7722000″
“Electrical and electronic goods retailing”	” -9686000″
“Furniture	“-12002000”
floor coverings	“-13211000”
houseware	“-24631000”
and textile goods”	“-36701000”
“Specialised food retailing”	“-40978000”
“Supermarket and grocery stores”	“-44473000”
“Department stores”	“-47116000”
“Accommodation”	“-48446000”
“Hardware	“-54699000”
building	“-62273000”
and garden supplies”	“-90536000”
“Recreational goods retailing”
“Clothing
footwear
and personal accessories”
“Fuel retailing”
“Food and beverage services”
“Motor vehicle and parts retailing”

Fourteen of the 15 retail industries had lower sales volumes in the December 2023 quarter compared with the September 2023 quarter.

The largest contributors to the fall in retail activity in the December 2023 quarter were:

motor vehicle and parts retailing – down 2.5 percent
food and beverage services – down 2.4 percent
fuel retailing – down 3.6 percent.

The only industry with an increase was pharmaceutical and other store-based retailing, up 0.3 percent. This industry includes retail of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, stationery, flowers, duty-free goods, and other store-based retailing.

Without adjusting for price and seasonal effects, total retail sales values fell 0.4 percent in the December 2023 quarter compared with the December 2022 quarter. This is the first fall since those seen during nationwide COVID-19 lockdowns in the September 2021 and June 2020 quarters. The last fall prior to COVID-19 was in the September 2009 quarter.