KEY POINTS:
Kiwi shoppers have been tightening their belts since the Christmas spend-up.
Credit card spending actually fell - by 0.1 per cent - on a seasonally adjusted basis in February, Statistics New Zealand said today.
Spending in the consumables, durables, and hospitality industries increased but that did not offset the fall in the auto industry, which coincided with a fall in fuel prices.
The seasonally adjusted value of core retail electronic card transactions (which excludes auto industries) was up 0.6 per cent in February 2008.
The trend for the core retail series has eased since August 2007.
Including debit cards, there were 81 million electronic transactions totalling $4.5 billion in February. When adjusted for seasonal fluctuations, this was a 0.2 per cent fall from January.
- NZPA
