Electronic Card Transactions

The seasonally adjusted total value of electronic card transactions was up 0.9 percent in October 2010, Statistics New Zealand said today. This follows a 1.1 percent increase in September 2010.

The value of transactions in the retail industries was up 0.8 percent. This included an 8.4 percent increase in fuel retailing, which was the largest monthly increase since December 2003. The rise in the value of transactions in fuel retailing coincided with an increase in fuel excise, which took effect from 1 October 2010. Non-retail (which include services such as travel and health, and wholesaling) was up 0.4 percent in October 2010.

The value of transactions in core retailing (which excludes the motor vehicle-related industries) was flat, up less than 0.1 percent. Increases were recorded in:

• consumables – up 2.4 percent (consumables includes food, liquor, and chemist retailing)
• apparel – up 2.7 percent (apparel includes clothing, softgoods, and footwear retailing)
• hospitality – up 1.2 percent (hospitality includes accommodation, bars, cafes, and restaurants).

These increases were almost entirely offset by a 6.0 percent decrease in durables, the largest decrease since the series began in October 2002. In September 2010, durables recorded a 4.1 percent increase and was the main contributor to the 1.5 percent increase in core retail for the month. Durables include furniture, hardware, and appliance retailing.

Trends for the value of transactions in the total and retail series have both strengthened since July 2010. The core retail trend has been rising at a monthly average of 0.5 percent since March 2010, after a period of lesser growth.

Electronic card transaction figures, which cover debit, credit, and charge card transactions with New Zealand-based merchants, include GST. The rate of GST increased from 12.5 percent to 15 percent on 1 October 2010.