Stats NZ has reported that the overall volume of retail sales declined 1.0 per cent in the June quarter. This follows the decline of 1.6 per cent and 1.1 per cent in the March quarter and last year’s December quarter, respectively, after correcting for pricing and seasonal impacts. According to Stats NZ, 11 of the 15 retail industries reported lower sales volumes in the quarter compared to the previous three-month period. Food and beverage services were down 4.4 per cent, while hardware, b
are, building and garden supplies fell 4.8 per cent.
The highest increase was in motor vehicle and parts retailing, which was up 3.7 per cent after falling by 2.1 per cent in the March quarter.
“Increased sales reported by vehicle dealers this quarter were likely influenced by impending changes to the Clean Car Discount scheme in July,” business financial statistics manager Thomas Cooper said.
“Seasonally adjusted series are subject to revision as more data is collected in future periods, and as we better understand how seasonal patterns have evolved since Covid-19 impacts started in 2020.”
The value of total retail sales in this June quarter was $29 billion, an increase of 2.5 per cent ($725 million) from the last June quarter when seasonal patterns and price effects were not taken into account.
