The total volume of retail sales increased 4.9 percent in the September 2022 quarter compared with the September 2021 quarter, Stats NZ said today.
The volume of sales in the food and beverage services industry (which includes cafes, restaurants, bars, and takeaways), increased 30 percent in the September 2022 quarter compared with the September 2021 quarter, helping to drive the rise in total retail sales.
In the September 2021 quarter, sales volumes were impacted by a national lockdown for part of the quarter, as well as extended restrictions in Auckland and Northland.
"With border restrictions lifting this year, a return of international visitors is likely to have helped boost hospitality spending, in addition to the bounceback seen in retail sales following last September quarter's lockdown," business financial statistics manager Melissa McKenzie said.
| "" | "Actual " | "Seasonally adjusted" |
| "Sep-2017" | "21634739000" | "22706599000" |
| "Dec-2017" | "24984613000" | "23011613000" |
| "Mar-2018" | "22552229000" | "22968286000" |
| "Jun-2018" | "22534192000" | "23202909000" |
| "Sep-2018" | "22219692000" | "23246685000" |
| "Dec-2018" | "25855443000" | "23701524000" |
| "Mar-2019" | "23307559000" | "23896204000" |
| "Jun-2019" | "23185489000" | "23821336000" |
| "Sep-2019" | "23220654000" | "24188774000" |
| "Dec-2019" | "26709078000" | "24524461000" |
| "Mar-2020" | "23853477000" | "24174283000" |
| "Jun-2020" | "19925762000" | "20452553000" |
| "Sep-2020" | "25092233000" | "26062377000" |
| "Dec-2020" | "27977684000" | "25616737000" |
| "Mar-2021" | "25426654000" | "26265564000" |
| "Jun-2021" | "26511665000" | "27097045000" |
| "Sep-2021" | "23802707000" | "24745617000" |
| "Dec-2021" | "29199341000" | "26977929000" |
| "Mar-2022" | "26007411000" | "26647323000" |
| "Jun-2022" | "25535164000" | "26067038000" |
| "Sep-2022" | "24979966000" | "26165919000" |
After seasonal patterns were removed, as well as price effects, total retail sales volumes rose 0.4 percent in the September 2022 quarter compared with the June 2022 quarter. This followed a 2.2 percent decrease in the June 2022 quarter and a 1.2 percent decrease in the March 2022 quarter. Seasonally adjusted series are subject to revision as more data is collected in future periods and as we better understand how seasonal patterns have evolved since COVID-19 impacts first started.
