Retail sales edge up 0.1% in June quarter as online purchases grow, petrol slides

The volume of retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in the three months ended June 30, shrinking from the 2.3% expansion in the March quarter, according to Statistics New Zealand. That was less than the 0.5% expansion seen in a Reuters poll of economists.

Stripping out vehicle-related purchases, core retail sales volumes increased 0.1%, compared to 2.5% growth in the March period. The value of retail sales, which includes price fluctuations, rose 0.1% in the quarter, while core retail values shrank 0.2%.

"Although just over half the industries had sales volume increases this quarter, they were modest in size compared with growth in recent quarters," business indicators manager Neil Kelly said in a statement.

New Zealand consumers have grown more downbeat in recent months as the end of the dairy boom and peak in the Canterbury rebuild take the wind out of the country's economic expansion, while record inbound net migration bolstering the size of the workforce and tepid consumer price inflation has kept wage growth subdued.

The New Zealand dollar recently traded at 65.60USc, from 65.59USc immediately before the 10:45am release.

Non-store and commission-based retailing, which includes local online vendors, dragged up volumes, rising 8.1% in the quarter, and slowing from an 8.3% expansion in the March quarter. The sector makes up about 1.5% of actual sales values, and is often a volatile series.

Fuel retailing was the biggest drag on consumer spending, shrinking 0.9% as the value of spending on fuel rose 3.2% on more expensive petrol prices.

The volume of supermarket and grocery sales rose 0.3% in the quarter with values unchanged in the period, while pharmaceutical and other store-based retailing volumes grew 0.7% with values up 0.1%.

Accommodation retailing volumes shrank 1.7% in the quarter, for a 0.1% decline in values. Spending volumes on motor vehicles and parts rose 0.6%, while values shrank 0.1%.

On an unadjusted basis, retail sales volumes rose 5.9% in the June quarter from the same period a year earlier, while core retail volumes gained 6.2%. Sales values increased 4.1% from a year earlier, with core retail sales values increasing 5.5%. Economists predicted 5.2% growth in the value of quarterly sales from a year earlier.

The volume of non-store and commissioned-based retailing jumped 36% in the year, for a 35% gain in the value of sales, while the volume of electrical and electronic goods climbed 14% for a 4% increase in the value of sales.

Supermarket and grocery volumes were 2.4% higher than a year earlier, for a 3.4% increase in the value, while fuel retailing volumes gained 5.1% for a 3.2% decline in value.

Retailers' inventories were 2.5% higher at $6.93 billion at the end of the quarter compared to a year earlier, with core retail stocks 2.2% higher at $5.19 billion from June 2014.

Inventories for motor vehicles and parts rose 4.4%, while fuel stocks shrank 11% from a year earlier. Non-store and commission-based stocks were 23% higher, and furniture, floor coverings, houseware and textiles inventories rose 8%.

(BusinessDesk)