29 Mar 2012

Christchurch's retail industry bouncing back

11:57 am on 29 March 2012

New figures suggest Christchurch's retail industry has bounced back well, despite being hit hard by the devastating February earthquake.

Statistics New Zealand on Thursday released the Christchurch Retail Trade Indicator for the first time. It will be released on a quarterly basis from now on.

The figures show retail activity fell by 4.2% in the March quarter last year because of the quake in February, but jumped 8.1% in the following quarter.

Since then, retail activity in Christchurch has stayed at that level, although activity nationally has gone up, growing by 4.2% in the second half of 2011.

Statistics New Zealand project manager Tahseen Islam says increased business during the Rugby World Cup may have contributed to figures rising nationally, but not in Christchurch as no games were played in the South Island city.