Total electronic card spending flat, core retail falls

Electronic card spending was flat in November 2011, Statistics New Zealand said today. When adjusted for seasonal effects, the value of transactions decreased 0.2 percent. This follows a 1.8 percent increase in October.

"The 1.3 percent decrease in spending in core retail was particularly noticeable," industry and labour statistics manager Louise Holmes-Oliver said. "This decrease was not led by any particular industry group, as three of the four core retail industries had falls in November.”

In core retail (which excludes the motor vehicle-related industries), the consumables, hospitality, and apparel industries were all down $14 million. Durables (up $2 million) was the only core retail industry where electronic card spending rose in November.

When the motor vehicle-related industries are added, spending across all retail industries was down 0.5 percent in November. Of the six retail industry groups, fuel retailing (up $24 million) had the largest rise in the value of transactions. November was the fourth consecutive month of strong rises in this industry.

When the two industries outside of retail (non-retail and services) are included, the total value of transactions decreased 0.2 percent.

Trends for the value of transactions in the total and retail series have been strong in recent months, but the core retail trend has now flattened.