Vehicle spending increases

Spending on motor vehicles using electronic cards rose by $1.6 million, or 0.8 per cent, month-on-month to total $195m in June, according to new data from Stats NZ.

The seasonally adjusted figure is the second-best monthly result so far this year after matching January’s tally but being below the $198 recorded in March.

Spending on vehicles in June was also up by $3m, or 1.6 per cent, from the same month of 2025.

As for the June quarter, consumers used retail cards to spend $579m, which was down $7.4m and 1.3 per cent from the March quarter.

Transactions for fuel decreased by $8.9m, or 1.7 per cent, month-on-month to $525m in June. However, the sector was the biggest climber on a quarterly basis and increased $109m, or 7.3 per cent, to $1.61 billion.

Overall spending in the retail industries dropped by $98m, or 1.4 per cent, to $7 billion last month.

Consumables was the only other industry to record a month-on-month increase in June after climbing $11m, or 0.4 per cent, to $2.85 billion.

In actual terms, cardholders made 166 million transactions across all industries last month with an average value of $55 per transaction. 

The total amount spent using plastic, which includes debit, credit, and charge cards, came in at $9.1b last month.

Spending in the June quarter for all retail categories climbed $82m, or 0.4 per cent, to $21.09b.