New Zealand retail sales volumes edged up in the June quarter, missing expectations, as growth in online buying helped offset a slide in petrol purchases.
The volume of retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent in the three months ended June 30, shrinking from the 2.3 percent expansion in the March quarter, according to Statistics New Zealand. That was less than the 0.5 percent expansion seen in a Reuters poll of economists.
Stripping out vehicle-related purchases, core retail sales volumes increased 0.1 percent, compared to 2.5 percent growth in the March period. The value of retail sales, which includes price fluctuations, rose 0.1 percent in the quarter, while core retail values shrank 0.2 percent.
"Although just over half the industries had sales volume increases this quarter, they were modest in size compared with growth in recent quarters," business indicators manager Neil Kelly said in a statement.
New Zealand consumers have grown more downbeat in recent months as the end of the dairy boom and peak in the Canterbury rebuild take the wind out of the country's economic expansion, while record inbound net migration bolstering the size of the workforce and tepid consumer price inflation has kept wage growth subdued.
The New Zealand dollar recently traded at 65.60 US cents, from 65.59 cents immediately before the 10:45am release.
Non-store and commission-based retailing, which includes local online vendors, dragged up volumes, rising 8.1 percent in the quarter, and slowing from an 8.3 percent expansion in the March quarter. The sector makes up about 1.5 percent of actual sales values, and is often a volatile series.
Fuel retailing was the biggest drag on consumer spending, shrinking 0.9 percent as the value of spending on fuel rose 3.2 percent on more expensive petrol prices.
The volume of supermarket and grocery sales rose 0.3 percent in the quarter with values unchanged in the period, while pharmaceutical and other store-based retailing volumes grew 0.7 percent with values up 0.1 percent.
Accommodation retailing volumes shrank 1.7 percent in the quarter, for a 0.1 percent decline in values. Spending volumes on motor vehicles and parts rose 0.6 percent, while values shrank 0.1 percent.
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