Card spending dips in September

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Consumers' plastic cards saw a bit less of the light of day last month.

Core retail spending, which excludes fuel and vehicle-related spending, was down 0.4 per cent on August, Statistics New Zealand said.

When the automotive sector is included the decline was 0.1 per cent.

The $4.4 billion in total retail spending charged to cards last month was 5.4 per cent higher than in September last year. Statistics New Zealand estimates that card transactions capture about 69 per cent of retail spending.

Spending classified as "hospitality" , which includes accommodation, bars, cafes and restaurants, and takeaways, continued to outperform, up 0.3 per cent on August, seasonally adjusted, and up 8.8 per cent on September last year.

By contrast consumables (food and liquor retailing), which represents 44 per cent of core retail spending, was down 0.4 per cent on August , though up 4.9 per cent on September last year.

Apparel sales were also weaker, down 0.5 per cent for the month but up 4.1 per cent for the year.

Spending on fuel fell 0.7 per cent form August but was up 1.9 per cent for the year.

"We had been expecting some moderation in activity from what seemed like an unsustainably strong pace of growth the previous two months," Westpac economist Felix Delbruck said.

"Over the past three months as a whole, core retail card spending is still up 0.9 per cent, a fairly similar pace to the June quarter's 1.2 per cent," he said.

Total retail card spending slowed more appreciably over the September quarter, from 1.5 per cent to 0.7 per cent.

Read the Statistics NZ release here: