Seasonally adjusted card spending rose $123 million (1.4 per cent) in May 2022 compared with April 2022, making this the third consecutive monthly rise, Stats NZ said today.
Seasonally adjusted non-retail sales increased $100 million (5.5 per cent) in May. Non-retail industries include medical and other health care, travel and tour arrangement, postal and courier delivery and other non-retail industries.
Fuel spending partly contributed to the May month’s increase, up $51 million (8.9 per cent) from the previous month. “The past few weeks in May saw fuel prices rising, which is reflected in electronic card spending for May,” business performance manager Ricky Ho said.
The total actual spending using electronic cards was $8.4 billion, up 3.1 per cent compared with May 2021. On the other hand, the number of transactions in May 2022 decreased 7.4 per cent from May 2021.
Year-on-year actual card spending on hospitality decreased, down $58 million (5.0 per cent) compared with May 2021.
The electronic card transactions series covers all debit, credit and charge card transactions with New Zealand-based merchants. It can be used to indicate changes in consumer spending and economic activity.
Values are only available at the national level and are not adjusted to price changes.