Electronic card spending up again in October

New Zealanders and visitors to the country together spent more on their credit and debit cards again in October, Statistics NZ said today. The seasonally adjusted value of electronic card transactions rose 1.8 percent in October, the largest increase since January 2011. This month's rise follows a 0.4 percent rise in September 2011.

“Although we can’t confirm the extent of their influence, it certainly appears that the Rugby World Cup and the later-than-usual school holidays boosted electronic card spending in October,” acting industry and labour statistics manager Tehseen Islam said.

The biggest increases in spending came from non-retail (up $28 million), fuel retailing (up $24 million), and apparel (up $13 million). Consumables (down $2 million) was the only industry where electronic card spending fell in October.

Across all retail industries, spending was up 1.5 percent in October, while core retailing (which excludes the motor vehicle-related industries) was up 0.9 percent.

Trends for the value of total transactions and retail transactions have both been increasing since January 20