Growth in Christchurch city’s retail spending continues to strengthen against the national level, Statistics New Zealand said today.

After seasonal fluctuations are removed, Christchurch’s retail and hospitality sales increased 2.4 per cent in the September 2015 quarter, compared with the June 2015 quarter. However, an increase of 1.4 per cent was recorded for the same period at the national level (see retail trade survey: September 2015 quarter).

“Robust spending in retail sales, together with an influx of new retail businesses, led the growth in Christchurch this quarter,” business indicators senior manager Neil Kelly said. “With this recent surge in retail activity, we have seen the city move ahead of the national growth level.”

In actual terms, Christchurch’s sales for the September 2015 quarter exceeded $1.9 billion, a 4.2 per cent increase compared with the same quarter in 2014. This follows a 2.9 per cent increase in the June quarter compared with the same quarter in 2014.

Looking at the longer-term picture, the trend for retail and hospitality sales in Christchurch has risen 31 per cent since the June 2010 quarter (before the earthquakes began). This compares with a 23 per cent rise at the national level over the same period.

The Christchurch retail trade indicator series measures activity in the retail and hospitality industries. It provides information on the state of these industries after the Canterbury earthquakes that began in September 2010.