Retail sales rise 1.6% in Sept quarter on robust auto trading, consumer electronics

New Zealand retail sales volumes rose in the September quarter as strong motor vehicle activity and a pick-up in consumer electronics drove consumer spending, beating expectations.

The volume of retail sales gained a seasonally adjusted 1.6% in the three months ended September 30, accelerating from a quarterly expansion of 0.1% in the June period, according to Statistics NZ. That was ahead of the 1.3% rise predicted in a Reuters poll of economists, and was led by a 5% increase in spending on motor vehicles and parts and a 6.6% rise in expenditure on electrical and electronic goods.

Stripping out vehicle-related purchases, core retail sales volumes increased 1%, compared with zero growth in the June quarter. The value of total retail sales, which includes price fluctuations, rose a seasonally adjusted 1.4% to $19.86 billion.

"Several car dealers told us they experienced a very busy September quarter, and were on target to achieve record sales this year," business indicators senior manager Neil Kelly said in a statement.

Motor Industry Association figures earlier this month showed new vehicle sales had their strongest October month on record with 12,684 new registrations, and were on track to trump 2014's annual record of 127,352 sales.

Today's survey shows the volume of sales at supermarket and grocery stores rose 0.7% in the quarter, while values were up 0.1% to $4.43 billion. Food and beverage services volumes rose 2.4% for a 2.9% rise in values to $2.22 billion, while fuel retailing volumes rose 1.3% for a 0.5% decline in values to $1.9 billion.

Non-store and commission-based retailing, which includes local online vendors, rose 8.7% on a volume basis for a 7.4% increase in value to $320 million.

Spending on recreational goods showed the biggest decline, falling 5.8% on a volume basis for a 6.1% drop in value to $525 million.

On an unadjusted basis, the volume of retail spending rose 5.7% from the September quarter in 2014 for a 4.8% increase in value spent to $19.2 billion. Stripping out vehicle related spending, the volume of core retail sales rose 5.2% for a 5.4% rise in value to $14.49 billion.

Retailers' inventories were 4.9% higher at $7.24 billion at the end of the quarter from a year earlier, with core retail stocks up 5.2% to $5.5 billion.

(BusinessDesk)