Growth in consumer spending, using electronic cards, slowed in June, probably due to the late start to winter.
Electronic spending though the Paymark network, which processes about three-quarters of all transactions, showed the annual rate eased to 5.9 percent compared with 8.3 percent in May.
Paymark head of customer relations Mark Spicer said one shouldn't read too much into the slowdown because weather often had a marked impact on the volume of payments through the network.
Spending growth in June compared with last year was fastest through food and liquor stores and the hospitality sector, rising by nearly 10 percent (9.7 percent for food and liquor and 9.9 percent for hospitality).
But spending in department stores was down 4 percent.
Spending at appliance retailers dropped 6.5 percent, and purchases through clothing shops fell 5.3 percent. Those in footwear outlets were 1.1 percent lower.
