Card spending rises $551m
Seasonally adjusted debit and credit card spending rose by $551 million in April, Stats NZ says.
The 7% increase was larger than the previous month, when it lifted only 1.7%. But as the cost of living rises, it is expected households will limit spending, which economists say will cause the figures to drop once again.
Stats NZ spokesperson Ricky Ho said there were a number of factors involved.
‘‘With New Zealand moving to the orange setting just before Easter, Kiwis could enjoy the long weekend and the school holidays with greater freedom,’’ he said.
‘‘This is reflected in the electronic card spending data, which saw increases across all spending categories.’’
Seasonally adjusted card spending topped $6.25 billion in April, and $5.84b in March.
Core retail sales had a strong increase of 7.4% in April. Core retail includes consumables, durables, hospitality, and apparel.
The increase was mostly driven by spending on consumables, up $118m, a 5% increase, and apparel, up $46m, a 16.8% increase.
The consumables industry includes groceries and liquor, while apparel includes clothing, shoes, jewellery, and watches.
The total amount of card spending on services rose by $21m (6.9%) between March and April. This category includes repair and maintenance, personal care and funerals.
But card spending on hospitality was down $56m (4.9%) compared with April last year.
Total actual spending using electronic cards was $8.1b, up 2.9% from April last year.
Wespac senior economist Satish Ranchhod said the 7% jump in spending was larger than expected.
‘‘But while we are seeing resilience in nominal spending, the level of spending is only now back around those we saw prior to the Delta outbreak,’’ he said.
‘‘That means some of the gains we’ve seen will reflect the impact of price rises rather than an increase in the volume of goods being sold.’’
Ranchhod said further increases in spending were expected, given the easing of restrictions, including the opening of the international border.
‘‘However, over the coming year household spending levels will come under pressure from continued increases in the cost of living, which are squeezing household budgets.’’