Electronic card spending drops more than expected in April

Card-holders across all industries made 139 million transactions in the month, down from 151 million in March.

New Zealand retail spending on electronic cards was lower than expected in April as consumers spent less on groceries, liquor and fuel in what Statistics New Zealand described as "unusual" figures.

Seasonally adjusted total retail spending on credit and debit cards fell 2.2 per cent in April after lifting 1.5 per cent in March, Stats NZ said.

Economists had expected the number to be flat, according to a Bloomberg poll. Core retail spending, excluding fuel and vehicles, fell 2.3 per cent after lifting 2 per cent in the prior month.

"The fall in retail card spending is unusually large. It was driven by a drop in sales of groceries and liquor, as well as an unexpected dip in fuel," Stats NZ business performance senior manager Peter Dolan said in a statement.

"The drop in fuel sales was unexpected because petrol prices rose as much as 9 cents a litre during the April month."

Stats NZ said it looked closely at the "unusual retail sales figures for April". Dolan said the results may be affected by changes in consumer behaviour, payment methods, or the way the electronic card transactions were processed.

"We will continue to explore the data with our suppliers to further understand these movements," Dolan said.

Consumables spending, which covers grocery and liquor retailing, fell 3.6 per cent in April. Spending on durables - which includes hardware, furniture and appliances - lifted 0.1 per cent in the month while hospitality fell 0.9 per cent. Apparel spending lifted 0.1 per cent on the month. Spending on vehicles rose 2.9 per cent while spending on fuel fell 2.9 per cent.

Today's figures show actual total retail spending rose 0.8 per cent to $5.07 billion in April from the same month year earlier.

Card-holders across all industries made 139 million transactions in the month, down from 151 million in March. The average value of $49 was unchanged on the month and the year.