Credit Card spending jumps in August

Retail card spending improved after a relatively flat five-month period, rising 1.1 percent over the month of August, to a total spend of $7.3 billion.

Data from Stats NZ shows spending rose across five of the six retail industries when compared to the prior month.

Hardware, furniture, and appliance retailing rose 1.7 percent over the month, up $22 million, while consumables (including grocery and liquor) rose 0.8 percent, up $16 million.

Spending in hospitality rose 1.5 percent, an increase of $16 million, while apparel grew 4.5 percent ($13 million) and vehicle spending rose 4.4 percent ($7.8 million).

The only industry that saw decreased spending was in fuel, which fell 1.4 percent – a decrease of $8.5 million.

“Card spending in retail industries bounced back after a quiet period in the previous five months,” Stats NZ retail statistics manager Sue Chapman said.

Overall sales were flat in July and June, fell 0.3 percent in May, rose 0.3 percent in April, and fell 0.2 percent in March.

August’s result is the largest jump in spending that has been seen since the start of the year, when spending rose from -2.2 percent in December to 2.2 percent up in January.

Over the month of August, Kiwi cardholders made 150 million transactions across all industries and averaged $49 per transaction.