Kiwis spending more on cars
Retail card spending on motor vehicles increased by $5 million – or 2.6 per cent – in May, when compared with how much consumers spent on the sector in the month prior.
It took the industry’s seasonally adjusted figure to $194m last month, which matched what was achieved in March this year to make it the joint-highest total since April 2024.
May’s total value of transactions for motor vehicles was also up $5m from the same month last year, when it came in at $189m.
The latest data from Stats NZ shows spending on motor vehicles, excluding fuel, delivered the biggest month-on-month increase in dollar and percentage terms of the six retail industries studied.
The only other climbers were apparel, up $200,000, and hospitality, up $1.7m, to both achieve monthly rises of 0.1 per cent.
Spending on fuel was the biggest faller last month after dropping by $12m, or 2.4 per cent, to $478m.
The latest seasonally adjusted values show overall spending in the retail industries was down $9.9m, or 0.2 per cent, between April and May this year.
In actual terms, cardholders made 166 million transactions across all industries in May, with an average value of $54 per transaction. The total amount spent using cards was $9 billion.
