Retail spending on motor vehicles, excluding fuel, was down $1.8 million (0.9%) month-on-month in October.
The industry’s seasonally adjusted total for the month was $186m, according to Stats NZ.
It matches August 2024 as the second-lowest spending month recorded for the industry over the last two years.
On a year-on-year basis, this was down 9.7% compared to a total of $206m in October last year.
Meanwhile, fuel was down $7m (1.4%) m/m in October.
Overall spending in the retail industries was up $39m (0.6%) m/m in October.
The total value of electronic card spending, including the two non-retail categories (services and other non-retail), increased from September 2024, up $32 million (0.4%).
In actual terms, cardholders made 169 million transactions across all industries in October 2024, with an average value of $55 per transaction. The total amount spent using electronic cards was $9.3 billion.
