New Zealand’s core retail sales declined year on year in November, according to Stats NZ’s electronic card transactions data.

Core retail sales during the month amounted to $6.16 billion, down 0.9 per cent from the year-ago period.

The lower sales come as durables declined 4.7 per cent to $1.79 billion and apparel fell 2.9 per cent to $364 million.

Meanwhile, consumables rose 1.1 per cent to $2.71 billion, while hospitality increased 1.3 per cent to $1.29 billion.

Despite the weaker consumer spending in November, the upcoming Christmas season sparks hope among retailers.

Core retail merchants within Worldline NZ’s payments network processed sales of $818 million in the first full week of December, up 3.8 per cent from the year-ago period.

“Some of the spending in early December can be attributed to continued Black Friday sales, but the trend is definitely improving,” said Carolyn Young, Retail NZ CEO.

“Strong pre-Christmas sales are critical to retailers meeting their annual sales targets. We hope that New Zealanders will continue supporting their local retail businesses in the lead-up to Christmas.”