Spending on vehicles edges up

Retail card spending on motor vehicles increased by $1.4 million – or 0.8 per cent – in September, when compared with the amount Kiwi consumers splashed out in the month prior.

The rise took the industry’s seasonally adjusted figure to $188m last month, which is the third lowest monthly total of the past two years, according to data from Stats NZ. 

Only June and August of this year recorded worse figures, with $185m and $186m respectively.

September’s total also represented a drop of $20m, or 9.6 per cent, from the same month of 2023 when $207m was spent on motor vehicles using electronic cards.

Spending on motor vehicles, excluding fuel, scored the third biggest month-on-month percentage change of the six retail industries covered in the latest statistics.

It was behind apparel, which jumped 1.1 per cent or $3.6m, and hospitality’s rise of one per cent or $12m. 

As for fuel, that industry was the worst performer in September after plunging $16m, or 3.1 per cent, from August’s figures.

The latest seasonally adjusted values show overall spending in all industries increased by $28m, or 0.3 per cent, between August and September this year.

In actual terms, cardholders made 157m transactions across all industries last month, with an average value of $55 per transaction. The total amount spent using cards was $8.6 billion.