August Retail Figures Boosted by "Brain Reclaim"

Media release

Newmarket Business Association

Tuesday, 13 October 2009

Positive nationwide retail figures for August, released by Statistics New Zealand today, show consumer confidence is slowing returning, says Cameron Brewer, chief executive of the Newmarket Business Association.

"What's more New Zealand's net migration gain of 15,600 in the year to 31 August 2009 - the highest in five years - has without doubt helped New Zealand retailers avoid the big troughs seen in the United Kingdom and United States.

"New Zealand has without doubt benefited from a lot of Kiwis returning home for good and not as many going abroad. The shine has certainly come off work opportunities in the UK and US. The brain drain has now become more of a brain reclaim and that’s been positive for local retail," says Mr Brewer.

"Solid population growth has helped ensure strong housing demand and kept retail spending relatively healthy. What's more, compared to many countries, our 6% unemployment rate remains relatively low.

"It appears we got through winter and people started to realise the sky hadn’t fallen in.

“New Zealand has held up relatively well but the missing ingredient over the past 21 months has been consumer confidence. However I don't think it's going to take many positive indicators like this to get people thinking positively again. We’ve seen slight GDP growth at 0.1% for the June quarter and there are plenty of surveys now pointing to an overall lift in confidence for 2010.

"Positive statistics like this may look minor but they do have an impact on the collective mood. The retail sector is so dependent on the feel-good factor. Retailers have yearned for some positivity and that's what we're starting to see.

"However it's not all going to good news from here on in. Expect to see some negative statistics in the coming months too. Unemployment for the September quarter will undoubtedly increase from the current 6%. However, overall it feels like we're starting to head in the right direction."

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