Total electronic card spending down in April

Embargoed until 10:45am – 11 May 2010

Total electronic card spending down in April

The total value of electronic card transactions was down 1.0 percent in April 2010 when adjusted for seasonal effects, Statistics New Zealand said today. This follows an increase of 1.0 percent in March 2010. The non-retail industries (which include services such as travel and health, and wholesaling) were up just 0.2 percent in April 2010, while the retail industries were down 1.7 percent.

"Seasonal adjustment reflects short-term behaviour and has been influenced by increased variability in spending patterns in recent months," said business statistics manager Louise Holmes-Oliver.

The value of transactions in core retail (which excludes the motor vehicle-related industries) was down 1.9 percent in April 2010, following an increase of 2.0 percent in March 2010. The main contributors to the April decrease were durables and consumables. Durables include furniture, hardware, and appliance retailing; consumables include food, liquor, and chemist retailing.

Trends for the value of transactions in the total, retail, and core retail series have all been increasing since January 2009, although the rate of increase has eased for each of the trends in recent months. These trend estimates may be revised and should be used with caution until more data points are available.

Electronic card transactions covers all debit and credit card spending with New Zealand-based merchants.

Geoff Bascand 11 May 2010
Government Statistician

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ElectronicCardTransactionsApr10HOTP.pdf
ectapr10tables.xls

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