New Zealand Q4 Retail Sales Volume Climbs 4.8% On Year

(RTTNews) - The volume of retail sales in New Zealand jumped 4.8 percent on year in the fourth quarter of 2020, Statistics New Zealand said on Tuesday - down from 8.3 percent in the three months prior.

The total value of retail sales was up 4.9 percent (NZ$1.3 billion).

the main movements by industry were: motor vehicle and parts retailing, up 12 percent (NZ$412 million); hardware, building, and garden supplies, up 16 percent (NZ$388 million); electrical and electronic goods retailing, up 19 percent (NZ$214 million); and supermarket and grocery stores, up 3.3 percent (NZ$187 million).

Fuel retailing had the largest fall, down 10 percent (NZ$241 million), followed by accommodation, down 18 percent (NZ$215 million).

Eleven of the 15 industries had higher sales volumes in the December 2020 quarter compared with the December 2019 quarter.

By industry, the main movements were: electrical and electronic goods retailing, up 21 percent; hardware, building, and garden supplies, up 15 percent; motor vehicle and parts retailing, up 9.3 percent; department stores, up 8.5 percent; and non-store and commission-based retailing, up 17 percent.

Accommodation had the largest fall, down 20 percent, followed by pharmaceutical and other store-based retailing, down 8.0 percent.

By region, the Auckland region had the largest increase, up 5.0 percent (NZ$507 million), followed by Waikato, up 8.6 percent (NZ$210 million). These increases were followed by Canterbury, up 4.8 percent (NZ$162 million), Wellington up 5.7 percent (NZ$147 million), and Bay of Plenty, up 7.1 percent (NZ$122 million).

The sales value for the Otago region was down 7.5 percent (NZ$111 million), followed by West Coast, down 14 percent (NZ$26 million).

On a quarterly basis, sales were down 2.7 percent after skyrocketing 28.0 percent in the previous three months.