New Zealand Retail Sales Mom

Retail sales in New Zealand dropped by 1.9% quarter-on-quarter in the three months to December of 2023, following a downwardly revised 0.8% fall in the previous quarter. It pointed to the eighth consecutive quarter of decline in retail spending as 14 of the 15 retail industries had lower sales volumes in the December 2023 quarter compared with the September 2023 quarter. The largest contributors to the fall in retail activity were motor vehicle and parts retailing (-2.5% vs -5.1% in Q3), followed by food and beverage services (-2.4% vs -0.6%) and fuel retailing (-3.6% vs -5.1%). The only industry that saw an increase was pharmaceutical and other store-based retailing (+0.3% vs +3.2%). On a yearly basis, retail spending sank by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, after dropping by 3.4% in the corresponding period of the previous year.