Retail sales suffer slip back

Seasonally adjusted retail sales - which exclude the four vehicle-related industries - edged down 0.1 per cent in July, Statistics New Zealand says.
While supermarket and grocery store sales gained 1.9 per cent and sales in cafes and restaurants lifted 4.3 per cent, recreational goods retailing fell 7 per cent and liquor retailing fell 9.3 per cent.
Recreational goods had been the largest contributor to the June rise in retail spending, when the category gained 9.6 per cent.
Total retail sales fell a seasonally adjusted 0.4 per cent in July from June, following a 1 per cent rise in June.
In actual terms, total retail sales were up 2.2 per cent in July from a year earlier.