By BRIAN FALLOW
Price rises accounted for most of the increase in retailers' takings in the September quarter, says Statistics New Zealand.
Core retail sales, which exclude the volatile automotive sector, rose 1.3 per cent in the quarter, seasonally adjusted, but 1.1 percentage points of that was inflation. Volume growth was just
0.2 per cent.
That represents a slowdown from real growth of 1.9 per cent in the first half of this year.
"It suggests private consumption, which is 60 per cent of demand in the economy, was weaker than we thought," said Westpac economist Donna Purdue.
But the slowdown also reflected some unusual factors, she said.
Perhaps because of the September 11 attacks, sales of big-ticket items such as appliances and vehicles fell in September, 1.1 and 1.3 per cent respectively.
Anecdotal evidence suggested sales had bounced back last month, Ms Purdue said. Car registrations had rebounded strongly.
BNZ economists also said retailer feedback suggested last month was relatively buoyant.
Department stores fared worst in the quarter. The closure of the Deka chain pushed sales in that store-type down 8.5 per cent in August, said Ms Purdue, but they partly recovered in September.
Prices rose in every store-type except footwear, clothing and personal services.
Food, appliances and the hospitality sector had the largest quarterly rises, 1.8, 1.2 and 1.6 per cent respectively.
