Credit card spending shows no signs of slowing down
Spending up confidence down.
Retail spending on electronic cards rose for a 10th straight month in a row last month, led by an increase in food and liquor.
Shoppers pulled their cards out 123 million times in February, spending on average $51 for each transaction to make a total spend of $6.3 billion. That was a 0.7% seasonally adjusted rise.
Actual sales during February were up 9.3% to $4.64 billion compared with February, Statistics New Zealand figures show.
Core retail spending, which excludes vehicle-related industries, rose 1.2%, mainly reflecting the drop in petrol prices, with fuel spending down 2.1%.
Shoppers’ confidence fell in February, based on the ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Index. It slipped back down to its historical average, although economists said overall sentiment was still reasonably robust.
A slight dimming of confidence comes amid signs Auckland's housing market is losing some of its steam, although shoppers still have access to cheap credit.
Spending increased in four of the six retail industries measured. The hospitality industry rose a seasonally adjusted 1.6%, while spending on durables climbed 0.7% and on apparel by 0.8%.
Card spending on services - everything from repairs and maintenance to funerals - fell 0.6% last month, but was up 9.6% from the same month last year.
Non-retail industry spending fell 2.5% in the month but was up 10.3% from a year earlier.
(BusinessDesk)
Jonathan Underhill
Wed, 09 Mar 2016
Wed, 09 Mar 2016
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Credit card spending shows no signs of slowing down
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