Minor rise in card spending
Retail card spending for the motor-vehicle industry rose 0.1 per cent in the June quarter after a modest rise of 1.4 per cent in the March 2019 quarter, according to Stats NZ's latest figures.
The overall volume of retail sales showed little change in the June 2019 quarter, said Stats NZ.
After adjusting for price and seasonal effects, the volume of total retail sales rose a modest 0.2 per cent, after a 0.7 per cent rise in the March 2019 quarter.
“We’ve seen relatively small changes in most of our retail industries this quarter,” says retail statistics manager Sue Chapman.
Electrical and electronic goods retailing had the largest rise, up 5.0 per cent after increasing 0.3 per cent in March. While, supermarket and grocery stores had the largest fall in the June 2019 quarter, down 0.9 per cent after a 0.4 per cent rise in March.
Fuel drives sale value rise
When the effects of price changes are included, total retail sales rose 0.7 per cent, or $170m, in the June 2019 quarter, following a minimal 0.1 per cent rise in the March quarter.
Fuel retailing boosted the total sales value this quarter, with the largest increase of 2.4 per cent, or $54m. This quarter’s rise almost reversed the 1.9 per cent fall in the March quarter, highlighting the effects of petrol and diesel price changes in the first half of this year.
“The fuel industry often provides volatile movements which are mainly reflective of the price changes,” says retail statistics manager Sue Chapman.
Auckland regional growth continues in June
Eleven regions had higher retail sales values in the June 2019 quarter compared with the March 2019 quarter.
The Auckland region had the largest rise this quarter, up 1.2 per cent, or $109m. This region has shown sustained growth for the past four years, after a slight fall of 0.5 per cent in the June 2015 quarter.
The Canterbury region had the next large increase in retail sales value, up 1.3 per cent, or $39m, in the June 2019 quarter, followed by Waikato, up 1.0 per cent.
The sales value for the total North Island regions rose 0.8 per cent ($149m) after a rise of 0.5 per cent in the March 2019 quarter.
The sales value for the total South Island regions rose 0.8 per cent ($47m) after a modest rise of 0.1 per cent in the March 2019 quarter.
