Kiwis spending more in supermarkets
Te Whanganui-a-Tara - Overall card spending was up 0.9 percent in June, driven by spending on consumable goods.
Seasonally adjusted card spending on consumables, which includes spending on groceries, liquor and specialised food, was up $41 million (1.8 percent) compared with May.
This was the largest growth in any of the core retail industries in June.
Supermarkets have seen the biggest rise in Kiwi spending last month.
With some particularly wild weather at the start and end of the month, New Zealanders may have been keener on stocking up on supplies and staying in.
While consumables saw the largest increase, spending was steady across the board.
Seasonally adjusted retail spending was up $54 million (0.9 percent), and total spending was up $134 million (1.6 percent) in June compared with May, Stats NZ says.
Spending remained robust in June, despite Wellington moving into and out of alert level 2 towards the end of the month.
A long stretch without covid restrictions may have helped fuel a strong increase in card spending in the June quarter.
The electronic card transactions series covers all debit, credit, and charge card transactions with New Zealand-based merchants. It can be used to indicate changes in consumer spending and economic activity.
By industry, the movements were: consumables, up $41 million (1.8 percent) fuel, up $10 million (1.8 percent), durables up $7.5 million (0.4 percent), motor vehicles (excluding fuel), up $0.3 million (0.2 percent) and clothing down $18 million (5.1 percent).
The services category was up $7.5 million (2.3 percent). This category includes repair and maintenance and personal care, funeral, and other personal services.
The hospitality industry rose $161 million (17 percent) between June 2020 and June 2021.
Lisa was born in Auckland at the start of the 1970s, living in a small campsite community on the North Shore called Browns Bay. She spent a significant part of her life with her grandparents, often hanging out at the beaches. Lisa has many happy memories from those days at Browns Bay beach, where fish were plentiful on the point and the ocean was rich in seaweed. She played in the water for hours, going home totally “sun-kissed.” “An adorable time to grow up,” Lisa tells me.
Lisa enjoyed many sports; she was a keen tennis player and netballer, playing in the top teams for her age right up until the family moved to Wellington. Lisa was fifteen years old, which unfortunately marked the end of her sporting career. Local teams were well established in Wellington, and her attention was drawn elsewhere.