Electronic card transactions in the retail sector rose by 0.7%, adding $45 million in August 2025 compared to July, data from Stats NZ has shown.
That’s the largest increase in 2025.
Core retail industry spending also grew in August, rising 0.9%, or $55 million.
Apparel saw the biggest rise for the month, with spending increasing 1.8%, or $5.9 million. Meanwhile, the hospitality industry experienced its biggest growth since November 2024, rising 1.4% or $21 million.
Consumables and durables spending rose as well, increasing by 0.3% ($7.1 million) and 0.5% ($8.9 million), respectively.
The non-retail (excluding services) category grew by 0.2% ($4.3 million) compared to July 2025.
Fuel and motor vehicles (excluding fuel) were the only categories to fall, decreasing by 0.1% ($0.5 million) and 0.9% ($1.7 million), respectively.
In the services category, spending on repair and maintenance, personal care, funerals, and other personal services remained steady, increasing by just $0.1 million.
Cardholders completed 174 million transactions across all industries in August 2025, with the average transaction value at $54.
The total expenditure via electronic cards reached $9.3 billion.
“Encouragingly, this marks the third consecutive monthly increase and is the largest increase seen this year,” Westpac senior economist Darren Gibbs said, noting that the result was stronger than they had anticipated.
“As a result, spending in the three months to August is 0.8% higher than in the preceding three-month period – the first positive quarter-on-quarter comparison since February.”
Gibbs said the upward trend was a positive sign for September’s quarterly GDP figures, especially if June’s numbers turn out as weak as anticipated.
“In the near term, we expect that consumer spending is likely to remain somewhat patchy, with spending appetites likely to remain weighed down by weak conditions in the labour market and the ongoing pressure on disposable income from large increases in the likes of local authority rates and utility fees.
“Barring no major unpleasant surprises from offshore – and we continue to monitor how US tariffs are impacting trading partner growth and commodity prices – we expect that the environment facing retailers will improve noticeably in 2026.”