Plastic cards got a good workout in March

Pre-Easter spending combined with an extra weekend shopping day made March a busy month for electronic transactions, according to payments provider Paymark.

The value of Paymark transactions throughout March increased by 4.8 per cent, the fastest annual growth rate since October 2008.

Annual growth was higher outside the large urban centres with Gisborne (+12 per cent) and South Canterbury (+11 per cent) leading the way. The combined Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury regions (+4.1 per cent) remained below the national average.

The industry sectors that experienced strong growth during the month were footwear (+ 16 per cent), fuel (+14 per cent), automotive repair outlets (+11 per cent) and food takeaways (+10 per cent).

However, not all sectors experienced this growth - fresh produce and clothing were down two and one per cent respectively.

The tourism sector (one of the country's two main export industries) was also up during March, with hotel accommodation spending jumping 49 per cent from the June 2009 low and 7.7 per cent on the March peak of 2009.