Electronic card spending rebounds in January

The total value of electronic card transactions was up 2.2 percent in January 2011 when adjusted for seasonal effects, Statistics New Zealand said today. This is the largest increase in five years and follows a decrease of 1.2 percent in December 2010. All industries recorded increases in January 2011.

The value of transactions in the retail industries was up 2.4 percent in January 2011, the largest increase since January 2006. This latest increase follows a 0.8 percent decrease in December 2010.

The value of transactions in core retail (which excludes the motor vehicle-related industries) was up 2.4 percent in January 2011, the largest increase since December 2002. This follows a decrease of 1.6 percent in December 2010, the largest decrease since November 2002.

The January increase in core retail was led by the consumables and durables industries. Consumables (which includes food and liquor retailing) increased 1.3 percent, and durables (which includes furniture, hardware, and appliance retailing) increased 1.8 percent.

Trends for the value of transactions in the total and retail series have continued to increase since early 2009. The trend for the core retail series has generally been increasing since the series began in October 2002, but has eased in recent months. 

Electronic card transaction figures, which cover debit, credit, and charge card transactions with New Zealand-based merchants, include goods and services tax (GST).

Geoff Bascand 9 February 2011

Government Statistician