Retail sales down in February

Seasonally adjusted total retail sales fell 0.6 percent ($32 million) in February 2010, Statistics New Zealand said today. One quarter of the 24 retail industries recorded falls of more than $5 million, with a further seven industries recording smaller decreases.

Seasonally adjusted core retail sales (which exclude the four vehicle-related industries) fell 0.9 percent ($35 million). “This is the second notable decrease in core retail sales in the past three months, and follows the record drop of 2.0 percent in December 2009,” business statistics manager Kathy Connolly said.

The core retail sales trend is falling for the first time since 1995, down 1.0 percent since October 2009. This follows two and a half years of slower-than-average growth. The total retail sales trend has flattened during the past few months, following a period of moderate growth that began in March 2009.

Sales trends for six of the seven food and drink related industries have been falling recently, with significant falls in supermarket and grocery stores, fresh produce retailing, and other food retailing. Takeaway food retailing was the only one of these industries to show a rising trend, growing 9.1 percent since December 2008.

Seasonally adjusted sales fell 1.3 percent in the North Island and 0.2 percent in the South Island.

Geoff Bascand 14 April 2010
Government Statistician