Vehicles lift April retail sales

In April 2009, seasonally adjusted total retail sales rose 0.5 percent ($27 million), Statistics New Zealand said today. Motor vehicle retailing, which can show considerable month-on-month volatility, contributed two-thirds of this month's increase, up 3.5 percent or $18 million.

Core retailing, which excludes the four-vehicle related industries, was down 0.1 percent ($4 million), with the biggest dollar movements in other retailing, down 5.1 percent or $14 million, and department stores, up 4.0 percent or $12 million.

Movements in the remaining 21 retail industries, up or down, were less than $7 million.

The trend in total retail sales has been in decline or flat since January 2008 and has fallen 3.5 percent since then. However, since January 2009, the rate of decline has eased and the trend has flattened. The core retail sales trend has been rising since September 1995. Since April 2007, it has slowed to an average increase of 0.1 percent per month.

In the regions, April 2009 saw a 5.0 percent increase in sales in Waikato (the region's first increase since November 2008), while Wellington was the only North Island region to record decreased sales. In the South Island, sales increased in Canterbury and were lower in the remainder of the South Island.