Core retail card spending increase offset by fuel

The seasonally adjusted value of electronic card transactions in core retail (which excludes the motor-vehicle related industries) was up 1.0 percent in May 2010, compared with April 2010, Statistics New Zealand said today. This increase followed a decrease of 1.9 percent in April 2010, and was due to a rise in the value of transactions in nearly all core retail industries.

The seasonally adjusted value of transactions in the retail and total series was up 0.4 percent and 0.2 percent respectively, in May. These increases, dominated by the core retail industries, occurred despite a 5.3 percent fall in fuel retailing. The non-retail industries (which include services such as travel and health, and wholesaling) were up just 0.2 percent in May 2010.

The core retail trend was flat from November 2009 to March 2010, but the growth rate has picked up slightly during the last two months. The retail and total trend series have both been rising since January 2009, but have flattened in recent months. These trend estimates may be revised and should be used with caution until more data points are available.

Annual credit card transactions as a proportion of the total transaction value has been declining since September 2008 (with a corresponding increase in debit card use). Credit cards accounted for 44.1 percent of transactions in the year to May 2010, the lowest proportion since the series began.

Cathryn Ashley-Jones 10 June 2010

Acting Government Statistician