2019.09.0920:47:00UTC+00New Zealand August Credit Card Spending Rises 1.3%

Overall credit card spending in New Zealand climbed a seasonally adjusted 1.3 percent on month in August, Statistics New Zealand said on Tuesday - following the 0.2 percent decline in July.

Retail credit card spending advanced 1.1 percent on month, exceeding expectations for a gain of 0.5 percent following the 0.1 percent drop in the previous month.

"Card spending in retail industries bounced back after a quiet period in the previous five months," retail statistics manager Sue Chapman said. "Most retail industries saw increased spending in August."

Core retail spending (excluding vehicle-related industries) rose 1.3 percent in August, after a 0.4 percent fall in July.

By industry, the movements were: durables, up NZ$22 million (1.7 percent); consumables, up NZ$16 million (0.8 percent); hospitality, up NZ$16 million (1.5 percent); apparel, up NZ$13 million (4.5 percent); vehicles (excluding fuel), up NZ$7.8 million (4.4 percent); and fuel, down NZ$8.5 million (1.4 percent).

The total value of electronic card spending, including the two non-retail categories (services and other non-retail), was up NZ$93 million (1.3 percent) in August 2019. This follows a 0.2 percent fall in July 2019.

The non-retail (excluding services) category rose NZ$35 million (2.3 percent) and the services category rose NZ$3.7 million (1.2 percent) in August 2019.

Cardholders made 150 million transactions across all industries in August 2019 with an average value of NZ$49 per transaction. The total amount spent using electronic cards was NZ$7.3 billion.

Retail spending using electronic cards was NZ$5.3 billion, up 2.8 percent (NZ$147 million) from August 2018.