New Zealand spending halves during lockdown

WELLINGTON - Retail card spending across New Zealand fell more than 2.6 billion NZ dollars ($1.6 billion) as non-essential businesses temporarily shut during the lockdown, the statistics department Stats NZ said on Monday.

"The significant fall this month was not unexpected. The record decline in spending was a direct result of businesses hibernating because of the COVID-19 lockdown," retail statistics manager Kathy Hicks said in a statement.

Total retail sales fell 47 percent in April 2020, which is the largest fall in both dollar terms and percentage change since the series began in 2002, Hicks said.

"The 2.6 billion-NZ dollar drop is the equivalent of each person in the country spending about 520 NZ dollars less in April than they did in March," she said.

All industries showed unprecedented falls in April. Furniture, hardware, and appliances led the retail industry falls in value, down 72 percent from March this year, statistics showed.

Hospitality sales, including accommodation, cafes, and restaurants, were down 93 percent, Stats NZ said.

"New Zealand was under the level 4 lockdown for all but the last three days of April. The impact of restrictions on the number of overseas visitors to New Zealand contributed greatly to the hospitality fall," Hicks said.

"A small recovery in hospitality sales happened because people could buy takeaway food through contactless payment, when the country moved to level 3," she said.

In actual terms, total retail spending using electronic cards was 2.9 billion NZ dollars, down 48 percent on April 2019, Stats NZ said.