Stats NZ

Retail trade survey: March 2023 quarter

The retail trade survey measures the sales and stock of businesses that provide household and personal goods and services – for example car yards, petrol stations, supermarkets, cafes and restaurants, and hotels.

Key facts

For the March 2023 quarter compared with the December 2022 quarter, unless otherwise stated:

  • total volume of seasonally adjusted retail sales was $26 billion, down 1.4 percent
  • total value of seasonally adjusted retail sales was $30 billion, down 0.3 percent ($77 million)
  • 9 of the 16 regions had lower seasonally adjusted sales values
  • total actual volume of retail sales decreased 4.1 percent, compared with the March 2022 quarter
  • total actual value of retail sales was $30 billion, up 4.7 percent ($1.3 billion), compared with the March 2022 quarter
  • total actual value of stock as at 31 March 2023 was $9.8 billion, up 5.2 percent ($486 million) compared with 31 March 2022.

Actual values are in current prices and not adjusted for inflation or price effects. Seasonally adjusted values have had typical seasonal patterns removed. Volumes have had price changes removed and are expressed in September 2010 quarter prices.

Seasonally adjusted series are subject to revision and have been challenging to estimate in the last few years.

See Challenges with seasonal adjustment for more information.

Created with Highcharts 5.0.14$Total retail trade sales ($), volumes, March 2018–March 2023 quartersActualSeasonally adjustedMar-2018Jun-2018Sep-2018Dec-2018Mar-2019Jun-2019Sep-2019Dec-2019Mar-2020Jun-2020Sep-2020Dec-2020Mar-2021Jun-2021Sep-2021Dec-2021Mar-2022Jun-2022Sep-2022Dec-2022Mar-202317.5B20B22.5B25B27.5B30BStats NZ

Total retail trade sales ($), volumes, March 2018–March 2023 quarters

Created with Highcharts 5.0.14$Total retail trade sales ($), volumes, March 2018–March 2023 quartersActualSeasonally adjustedMar-2018Jun-2018Sep-2018Dec-2018Mar-2019Jun-2019Sep-2019Dec-2019Mar-2020Jun-2020Sep-2020Dec-2020Mar-2021Jun-2021Sep-2021Dec-2021Mar-2022Jun-2022Sep-2022Dec-2022Mar-202317.5B20B22.5B25B27.5B30BStats NZ
CategoryActual Seasonally adjusted
Mar-201822,552,229,00022,965,593,000
Jun-201822,534,192,00023,193,782,000
Sep-201822,219,692,00023,261,555,000
Dec-201825,855,443,00023,701,876,000
Mar-201923,307,559,00023,885,601,000
Jun-201923,185,489,00023,814,975,000
Sep-201923,220,654,00024,210,162,000
Dec-201926,709,078,00024,517,117,000
Mar-202023,853,477,00024,176,731,000
Jun-202019,925,762,00020,438,696,000
Sep-202025,092,233,00026,082,078,000
Dec-202027,977,684,00025,618,355,000
Mar-202125,426,654,00026,248,615,000
Jun-202126,511,665,00027,070,770,000
Sep-202123,802,707,00024,774,194,000
Dec-202129,199,341,00026,953,270,000
Mar-202226,007,411,00026,664,760,000
Jun-202225,535,164,00026,034,823,000
Sep-202224,969,369,00026,158,969,000
Dec-202228,026,047,00025,896,690,000
Mar-202324,939,197,00025,545,281,000

Sales volumes down in March

Nine of the 15 industries had lower seasonally adjusted sales volumes in the March 2023 quarter compared with the December 2022 quarter.

By industry, the largest movements were:

  • hardware, building, and garden supplies – down 6.3 percent
  • motor vehicle and parts retailing – down 2.8 percent
  • liquor retailing – down 13 percent
  • pharmaceutical and other store-based retailing – down 3.1 percent
  • clothing, footwear, and personal accessories – up 3.8 percent.
Created with Highcharts 5.0.14Industry (ANZSIC06)$ANZSIC06 – Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification 2006.Seasonally adjusted retail sales volume by industry ($), change from December 2022 quarter to March 2023 quarterClothing, footwear, and personal accessoriesFood and beverage servicesDepartment storesRecreational goods retailingFurniture, floor coverings, houseware, and textile goodsElectrical and electronic goods retailingNon-store and commission-based retailingFuel retailingSupermarket and grocery storesAccommodationSpecialised food retailingPharmaceutical and other store-based retailingLiquor retailingMotor vehicle and parts retailingHardware, building, and garden supplies-160M-140M-120M-100M-80M-60M-40M-20M020M40M60MStats NZ

Seasonally adjusted retail sales volume by industry ($), change from December 2022 quarter to March 2023 quarter 

Created with Highcharts 5.0.14$Seasonally adjusted retail sales volume by industry ($), change from December 2022 quarter to March 2023 quarter$Clothing, footwear, and personal accessoriesFood and beverage servicesDepartment storesRecreational goods retailingFurniture, floor coverings, houseware, and textile goodsElectrical and electronic goods retailingNon-store and commission-based retailingFuel retailingSupermarket and grocery storesAccommodationSpecialised food retailingPharmaceutical and other store-based retailingLiquor retailingMotor vehicle and parts retailingHardware, building, and garden supplies-160M-140M-120M-100M-80M-60M-40M-20M020M40M60MStats NZ
Industry (ANZSIC06)$
Clothing, footwear, and personal accessories46,340,000
Food and beverage services35,092,000
Department stores19,607,000
Recreational goods retailing7,010,000
Furniture, floor coverings, houseware, and textile goods2,868,000
Electrical and electronic goods retailing1,109,000
Non-store and commission-based retailing-11,325,000
Fuel retailing-14,078,000
Supermarket and grocery stores-14,801,000
Accommodation-17,670,000
Specialised food retailing-33,842,000
Pharmaceutical and other store-based retailing-51,795,000
Liquor retailing-64,277,000
Motor vehicle and parts retailing-104,076,000
Hardware, building, and garden supplies-151,571,000

Sales values down in March

Seven of the 15 industries had lower seasonally adjusted sales values in the March 2023 quarter compared with the December 2022 quarter.

With price effects included, the largest industry movements were:

  • fuel retailing – down 5.6 percent ($156 million)
  • hardware, building, and garden supplies – down 5.2 percent ($154 million)
  • supermarket and grocery stores – up 2.2 percent ($139 million)
  • food and beverage services – up 3.6 percent ($136 million)
  • motor vehicle and parts retailing – down 2.1 percent ($85 million).
Created with Highcharts 5.0.14Industry (ANZSIC06)$ANZSIC06 – Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification 2006.Seasonally adjusted retail sales value by industry ($), change from December 2022 quarter to March 2023 quarterSupermarket and grocery storesFood and beverage servicesClothing, footwear, and personal accessoriesAccommodationDepartment storesRecreational goods retailingElectrical and electronic goods retailingFurniture, floor coverings, houseware, and textile goodsNon-store and commission-based retailingPharmaceutical and other store-based retailingSpecialised food retailingLiquor retailingMotor vehicle and parts retailingHardware, building, and garden suppliesFuel retailing-100M0100M-175M-150M-125M-75M-50M-25M25M50M75M125M150MStats NZ

Seasonally adjusted retail sales value by industry ($), change from December 2022 quarter to March 2023 quarter 

Created with Highcharts 5.0.14$Seasonally adjusted retail sales value by industry ($), change from December 2022 quarter to March 2023 quarter$Supermarket and grocery storesFood and beverage servicesClothing, footwear, and personal accessoriesAccommodationDepartment storesRecreational goods retailingElectrical and electronic goods retailingFurniture, floor coverings, houseware, and textile goodsNon-store and commission-based retailingPharmaceutical and other store-based retailingSpecialised food retailingLiquor retailingMotor vehicle and parts retailingHardware, building, and garden suppliesFuel retailing-100M0100M-175M-150M-125M-75M-50M-25M25M50M75M125M150MStats NZ
Industry (ANZSIC06)$
Supermarket and grocery stores139,083,000
Food and beverage services136,342,000
Clothing, footwear, and personal accessories53,174,000
Accommodation47,050,000
Department stores33,436,000
Recreational goods retailing16,414,000
Electrical and electronic goods retailing10,561,000
Furniture, floor coverings, houseware, and textile goods6,615,000
Non-store and commission-based retailing-5,317,000
Pharmaceutical and other store-based retailing-28,479,000
Specialised food retailing-29,094,000
Liquor retailing-61,720,000
Motor vehicle and parts retailing-85,178,000
Hardware, building, and garden supplies-154,416,000
Fuel retailing-155,876,000

Regional sales values

Nine of the 16 regions had lower seasonally adjusted sales values in the March 2023 quarter compared with the December 2022 quarter.

By region, the largest movements were:

  • Auckland – up 0.4 percent ($51 million)
  • Waikato – down 1.5 percent ($42 million)
  • Canterbury – up 0.7 percent ($26 million)
  • Otago – up 1.4 percent ($21 million)
  • Wellington – down 0.7 percent ($19 million).

See tables 7, 8, and 9 in the Excel table ‘Retail trade survey: March 2023 quarter’ under Download data for more regional figures.

Some regions were affected by adverse weather in the March 2023 quarter, see ‘Impacts of adverse weather events’ in the section below for more information on how this impacted the retail trade statistics.

Stock values up

Stock figures were recorded as at 31 March 2023. All references to stocks are in actual dollars.

The total value of stock held at 31 March 2023 was $9.8 billion, up 5.2 percent ($486 million) compared with 31 March 2022.

In the September 2022 quarter, a few businesses’ structural changes resulted in some activity moving from the electrical and electronic goods retailing industry to the department stores industry. This change may be continuing to impact on the results in these industries.

By industry, the largest movements were:

  • department stores, up 14 percent ($165 million)
  • electrical and electronic goods, down 27 percent ($149 million)
  • motor vehicle and parts retailing, up 7.0 percent ($143 million).

Data updates

We received updated information for the December 2022 quarter. This affected our regional series for Gisborne and Hawke's Bay but did not affect any industry results, core retail or total retail estimates.

We have also updated the retail trade sales deflators for the September and December 2022 quarters to reflect a few businesses’ structural changes. This resulted in some activity moving from the electrical and electronic goods retailing industry in the June 2022 quarter to the department stores industry in the September and future quarters.

The updates affected the volume series in the September and December 2022 quarters for:

  • department stores
  • electrical and electronic goods
  • core industries total
  • all industries total.

We have revised the data in the published series, and these are listed with a revision flag on the affected series in the published tables, CSV file, and relevant Infoshare series.

Impacts of adverse weather events

In late January and mid-February 2023, Aotearoa New Zealand was affected by tropical cyclones Hale and Gabrielle. The adverse weather and resulting flooding caused loss of life, significant damage, and disruption, particularly across the East Coast and upper North Island. We appreciate the time and effort New Zealanders took to respond to the retail trade survey while also dealing with these difficult circumstances.

Collection for the March 2023 quarter retail trade survey was not significantly impacted by the adverse weather, with comparable response rates achieved to recent quarters. Retail Trade survey day March 2023 quarter collection methodology - DataInfo+ has more information.

Some activity of businesses in affected regions was impacted by the cyclones. We are confident that given collection and quality assurance practices the statistics are fit for purpose. We are unable to identify the unique impact from the cyclones on retail sales relative to other factors like consumer behaviour changes due to inflation or COVID-19 related influences like international borders being open.

Challenges with seasonal adjustment

There are ongoing challenges in recognising and specially treating factors that should be allowed to influence seasonal adjustment calculations from those that are extraordinary. COVID-19 lockdowns, restrictions, and the removal of these have varying impacts on all our retail series (for example, industries, regions, sales, and stocks) over time.

Revisions to our seasonally adjusted series could be more significant as we collect future periods of data, build off what we’ve learnt over the last few years and look to apply more standardised processes to our application of special treatment.

See Impact of COVID-19 on seasonally adjusted and trend series for more information.

Trend series unavailable due to COVID-19

It is not possible to estimate current trend levels post March 2020 to Stats NZ’s usual quality standard until we know the full effect of COVID-19 on the time series. Therefore, most trends series are suppressed and will be reviewed for publication in the future.

More data

Use Infoshare for retail trade tables:

Subject category: Industry sectors
Group: Retail trade (ANZSIC06) – RTT

ISSN 1178-0355

Next release

Retail trade survey: June 2023 quarter will be released on 23 August 2023.

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