Spending on vehicles slips

Retail expenditure on motor vehicles using electronic cards fell by $5.2 million, or  2.7 per cent, last month when compared to May.

The seasonally adjusted total for the industry in June was $191m, which matched April’s figure and was the joint second lowest monthly tally of the past year.

However, last month’s total was up from $187m in the same month of 2024.

Transactions for fuel were flat and increased $200,000 between May and June to remain at $478m, reports Stats NZ.

Overall spending in the retail industries increased by $32m, or 0.5 per cent, over the same timeframe to $6.88 billion.

The biggest month-on-month change in dollar terms was recorded by the consumables industry, where retail spending rose $29m, or one per cent, to $2.8b.

In actual terms, cardholders made 166 million transactions across all industries in June with an average value of $54 per transaction. 

The total amount spent using plastic, which includes debit, credit, and charge cards, was $8.9b last month.

Quarterly stats

Spending on motor vehicles also dropped by $3.9m, or 0.7 per cent, in the June quarter when compared with the first three months of 2025.

The total for the period came in at $581m, which was also below the $617m achieved in the June quarter last year.

The fuel sector suffered the biggest quarter-on-quarter drop this year, plunging $71m, or 4.7 per cent, to $1.45b.

As for all the retail industries combined, the June quarter total fell $144m, or 0.7 per cent, to $20.62b.

Motor vehicles, fuel, hospitality, durables and apparel all recorded declines, with consumables the only category on the up after climbing $111m, or 1.4 per cent, to $8.33b.