Vehicles were one of four retail industries in which spending increased year-on-year in June, Stats NZ says.
The others were consumables, durables and apparel.
Retail spending on furniture, hardware, appliances, and recreational goods helped boost June total sales to $5.7bn.
“During the COVID-19 lockdown, which started late March, we saw a significant drop in spending as the majority of businesses closed,” says Stats NZ’s retail statistics manager Kathy Hicks.
“The full force of the lockdown on sales came into effect in April, with more typical total levels of spending returning in June.”
Of the six retail industries Stats NZ measures, only fuel and hospitality saw a drop in spending, Hicks says. Spending on fuel was down $84 million (15%), and on hospitality, it was down $74 million (7.3%) from June 2019.
“The drop in fuel spending would have been affected by cheaper pump prices and flexible working arrangements,” she says. “Many businesses only started returning to the office after the move to alert level 1 on June 8.”
