Kiwis' spending fell across the board in February, Stats NZ said today.
There was a fall in electronic card spending between January and February 2021. Seasonally adjusted total electronic card spending fell by $256 million (3.2 percent).
"COVID-19 alert level restrictions on movements and activity can impact on the nation's spending patterns," business statistics manager Geraldine Duoba said.
"The seven days of restrictions from the 14th of February, particularly the three days that Auckland spent in level 3 and the rest of the country in level 2, are likely to have driven lower spending levels in February."
While seasonally adjusted spending dropped for all sectors, this fall was particularly driven by reduced spending in two main sectors. Kiwis spent $96 million (5.9 percent) less on non-retail industries including postal services, travel agencies, and medical services; and $17 million less (0.8 percent) on consumable goods, such as supermarket, specialised food, and liquor sales.
| Sector | January | February |
| Consumables | 2263090000 | 2245988000 |
| Durables | 1588726000 | 1581636000 |
| Services | 323522000 | 310446000 |
| Apparel | 329307000 | 320077000 |
| Motor vehicles exl.fuel | 199869000 | 192668000 |
| Fuel | 513201000 | 509200000 |
| Non-retail excl. services | 1607040000 | 1511463000 |
Border closure continues to impact summer spending
In actual terms, electronic card spending decreased by $632 million (8.1 percent) between February 2020 and February 2021.
The hospitality sector has continued to be hit hard, dropping by $182 million (15.8 percent). In particular, spending on accommodation shrank by $112 million (42.6 percent).
"With the border closure preventing tourists from enjoying the kiwi summer, New Zealand's hospitality industry is still feeling the pinch," said Ms Duoba.
| Year | Food and beverage services | Accommodation |
| 2019 | 824297000 | 258163000 |
| 2020 | 892875000 | 262212000 |
| 2021 | 822405000 | 150577000 |
Seasonal adjustment note
We are continuing to review seasonally adjusted card transaction data. Due to a clearer seasonal pattern apparent in the data, we have been able to return to seasonally adjusting the majority of the series.
Note that the data is more volatile from the March 2020 to November 2020 period, due to COVID-19 alert level changes and their impacts on electronic card spending. Use caution when making inferences from the seasonally adjusted data.
See Electronic card transactions: February 2021 for a more detailed quality note and data.
