Retail card spending fell in January due to a decrease in the hospitality, groceries and liquor industries, though the decreases were smaller than prior months, StatsNZ said on Wednesday.

When seasonally adjusted retail spending dipped just 0.1 per cent during January, following the 0.9 per cent fall in December.

“Retail card spending as slowed over the last couple of months on the back of a very strong November,” retail statistics manager Sue Chapman said.

“The industries that fell this month compared with December had falls that were quite small, with values only falling by $11 million or less.”

By industry, fuel saw the largest rise at 1.5 per cent or $8.7 million, while durables rose 0.3 per cent or $4.1 million. Motor vehicles excluding fuel rose 0.6 per cent or $1.1 million, while apparel fell 0.3 per cent or $1 million.

Groceries and liquor fell 0.3 per cent or $6.9 million, while hospitality fell 1 per cent or $11 million.

According to Chapman, Kiwis were likely spending their time on road trips, due to the spread of retail spending.

Total retail spending hit $5.9 billion – 4.2 per cent up on January 2019.