12 Nov 2009

Retail spending rises in September quarter

4:18 pm on 12 November 2009

The value of retail spending rose in the September quarter, mainly because of price rises rather than increases in volume, Statistics New Zealand says.

Seasonally-adjusted total retail sales increased 0.5% or 82 million.

This was the second consecutive quarter of increases, following four quarters of decreases.

Although sales values were up, volumes rose by only 0.1%, suggesting that prices rose during the quarter, Statistics New Zealand says.

The biggest increase in sales value was in supermarket and grocery stores, which rose $41 million or 1.1% .

Appliance retailing rose 5.1% or $32 million.

The biggest decreases in sales value were in automotive fuel retailing, which fell $38 million or 2.5% and department stores which were down $30 million or 3.2%.