Card spending climbs

Consumers spent more on motor vehicles in actual terms via electronic card transactions in November than October.

Last month’s total came in at $198 million compared to $192m in the previous month. That said, November’s total was down by 11.3 per cent versus the same month in 2023.

The seasonally adjusted total spent on vehicles in November was $185m, the same as in October but a decrease of 0.3 per cent on November last year.

Actual spending on fuel, which was $514m, dropped by 13.8 per cent last month year on year. The seasonally adjusted total for fuel in November was $497m for a 1.3 per cent increase over the same timescale.

Stats NZ reports spending in the retail industries was unchanged, while transactions in core retail industries increased by 0.1 per cent to $3.2m.

In actual terms, cardholders made 171 million transactions across all industries in November with an average value of $56 per transaction. The total amount spent using electronic cards was $9.6 billion.