Retail spending on electronic cards fell slightly in October, figures from Statistics New Zealand show.
Electronic card transactions in core retail industries, which excludes cars and fuel, fell 0.4% in the month.
This was largely due to a 0.7% drop in spending on consumables.
Total electronic card transactions rose a seasonally-adjusted 0.2%, compared with September.
ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley says this rise was driven by higher fuel and food prices.
