Figures from Stats NZ show that core retail spending (which excludes fuel) dropped on a seasonally adjusted basis by 0.3 percent in June, adding to the evidence that the rising cost of living is starting to prompt people to cut back.
Annual inflation hit 6.9 percent as of the March quarter.
Statistics New Zealand said that including fuel the amount of electronic card transactions rose by 0.1 percent in June.
By spending category, the movements were:
- fuel, up $18 million (2.9%)
- apparel, down $0.4 million (0.1%)
- consumables, down $6.5 million (0.3%)
- durables, down $10 million (0.6%)
- motor vehicles (excluding fuel), down $3.3 million (1.6%).
In actual terms, cardholders made 148 million transactions across all industries in June 2022, with an average value of $56 per transaction. The total amount spent using electronic cards was $8.2 billion.
Due to the effect of Covid-19 on tourism, Stats NZ said it was unable to release seasonally adjusted figures for the hospitality industry, instead focusing on the actual hospitality values for the June 2022 publication.
Spending in the hospitality industry fell $6.0 million (0.6 percent) between June 2021 and June 2022.
