The country's retail sector remains in the doldrums.Core retail – that is, non-vehicle and fuel related - sales fell 0.2% in April, Statistics New Zealand announced this morning.The fall is in line with consensus market forecasts and reflects the ec
The country’s retail sector remains in the doldrums.
Core retail – that is, non-vehicle and fuel related - sales fell 0.2% in April, Statistics New Zealand announced this morning.
The fall is in line with consensus market forecasts and reflects the economic “rebalancing” which economists and policymakers have been urging on New Zealanders for some time. Record highs in household debt levels and uncertain times means New Zealanders are keeping their credit cards in their wallets.
Total retail fell further – 0.3%, a fall worth $18 million.
Department stores recorded the largest drop, down 3.3% or $11 million, with fuel retailing falling 1.1%, or $6 million and chemist retail dropping 3.6%, or %6 million.
Offsetting that is the always-volatile accommodation sales, up 7% or $15 million, and supermarket and groceries sales, which recorded a small rise of 0.5% or $6 million.
Core retail sales have been declining since October last year, and total sales, although they stopped declining in February 2009, have been flat since December.
Regionally, the declines are in Auckland and Wellington – other regions showed increases, with the largest rise being in provincial North Island areas, where sales rose 1.9%. This is a turnaround for those regions –the sales trend has been falling since December.
Wellington sales have been flat this year but the fall in Auckland retail also represents a change – retail sales in the country’s largest city have been rising since January last year, although, again, the increases have been flattening of late.
The region with the strongest consistent performance has been the Waikato, with an average of 0.6% a month since August last year.
