Retail spending using electronic cards slips

Retail sales using electronic cards edged lower by a seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent in February from January, held back from a steeper fall by a 2.5 percent rise in spending on fuel.
The figures published today by Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) show that the core retail group, which excludes vehicle-related industries, fell 0.6 percent following a 2.3 percent rise in January.
Spending using cards on durables fell a seasonally adjusted 2.4 percent, while spending on apparel dropped 4.9 percent.
Overall, total sales using electronic cards rose a seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent, with services up 1.3 percent and non-retail excluding services up 2 percent.
The actual value of core retail sales using electronic cards was up 5 percent in February from a year earlier.