Canterbury retail sales bounce back

Last updated 13:18 05/05/2011

 

The number of payments made with electronic cards increased 5.3 per cent in April compared to the same month of 2010, as Canterbury businesses in particular returned to trade.

There were 74.8 million transactions processed through Paymark's network last month, with the growth rate above the average 4.5 per cent growth of the previous two months.

"The trend upwards during April has definitely been affected by a pick-up in Canterbury's spending, as well as other factors such as growth in the clothing and footwear sectors," said Paymark head of sales and marketing, Paul Whiston.

"Annual change in transaction volumes in the Canterbury region has been -6.4 per cent, -11.9 per cent and -2.1 per cent respectively in February, March and April. The improvement between March and April was a major contributor to the faster national spending growth in April, though spending is still constrained."

The busiest day of the month, and the busiest trading day so far this year was Thursday 21 April, as people stocked up for the Easter weekend.

The 3.38 million transactions that day was for a total spend of $184 million.

The start of the colder seasons was reflected in increased clothing and footwear sales as people ensured they were ready for the coming weather, Whiston said.