- Tehseen Islam, acting business indicators manager at Statistics New Zealand
Retail sales in New Zealand increased at a record pace in the first quarter of 2015 as the beginning of the school year boosted demand for consumer electronics such as laptops and tablets. The volume of sales rose a seasonally adjusted 2.7% in the three months through March, accelerating from the 1.9% pace in the December quarter, according to Statistics New Zealand. That overshot the 1.5% growth expected by economists. Excluding vehicle-related spending, retail sales surged 2.9%, driven by an 8.9% gain in sales of electrical and electronic goods. The actual volume of sales in the March quarter was 7.4% higher compared with the same period a year earlier. Consumer confidence has been supported by low interest rate environment, cheap petrol and a recovery of the New Zealand's economy, though recent wage data and weak inflation has raised concerns that retail spending might come under pressure if household earnings remained tepid.
A separate report showed New Zealand's manufacturing sector continued to grow in April, although the pace of expansion has slowed. The BNZ-Business NZ seasonally adjusted manufacturing index dropped to 51.8 in April, 2.8 points lower than a month earlier. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below 50 indicates contraction. The sector now has been expanding for 31 straight months.
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