Retailing loses momentum before GST increase

Consumers are leaving the plastic in their wallets. Photo / Supplied

Time is running out for a boost in consumer activity before GST rises on October 1, with data showing almost no growth in spending using electronic cards in August.

Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) figures out yesterday show a seasonally adjusted rise of just 0.1 per cent in total electronic card transactions (ECT) in August compared with July.

For the retail industries only, transactions slipped 0.2 per cent. A decline of the same size was recorded for the core retail category, which excludes vehicle-related industries.

Decreases in the retail and core retail sectors were led by a 1.1 per cent fall in the durable sector, including furniture, hardware and appliances, and a 0.6 per cent fall in consumables, such as food, liquor and chemist sales.

In non-retail industries, such as travel and health, ECTs were up 2.3 per cent, offsetting the falls in most retail categories.

The actual value of transactions in the core retail series was up 2.1 per cent from a year ago, SNZ said.

Goldman Sachs JBWere economist Bernard Doyle said the figures followed strong results from the previous three months and suggested retailing had lost some momentum.

The data showed no sign of consumers running up purchases ahead of the GST rise, but he expected the bulk of any impact that did show up to come in September, Doyle said.

ANZ economists said they preferred to focus on underlying trends.

On that basis growth in core retail spending was continuing at a respectable pace and was driven by higher spending on consumables, although durable spending was also trending up as the GST increase approached.

"Evidence of a pre-GST spend-up in durable spending is slowly becoming evident, with discounting in this sector also implying that underlying retail volume growth is stronger than implied by the nominal figures," said Doyle.

- NZPA