Overall credit card spending in New Zealand slipped a seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent on month in May, Statistics New Zealand said on Monday.
That missed forecasts for an increase of 0.1 percent following the 0.5 percent increase in April.
Retail credit card spending slid 0.4 percent on month, again shy of estimated for a gained of 0.2 percent following the 1.1 percent jump in the previous month.
The largest fall came from the consumables industry, down NZ$12 million (0.7 percent). The consumables industry includes grocery and liquor retailing.
"The fall in retail card spending in May was driven by an easing of consumables spending, after a record increase in April," business indicators manager Craig Liken said. "Fuel spending was also down, with lower prices throughout the month."
Spending fell in three of the six retail industries in May. The largest movements were: consumables, down NZ$12 million (0.7 percent); fuel, down NZ$11 million (1.8 percent); and hospitality, down NZ$7 million (0.8 percent).
Core retail spending (which excludes the vehicle-related industries) fell 0.4 percent in May after a 1.4 percent jump in April.
Retail spending using electronic cards was NZ$5 billion in May, up NZ$250 million (5.2 percent) from a year earlier.
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