Electronic card transactions at a glance
- There were 84 million electronic card transactions with New Zealand-based merchants in September 2008, with a value of $4.5 billion. This compares with 79 million transactions in September 2007, with a value of $4.3 billion.
- There were 1.0 billion electronic transactions in the year ended September 2008, with a value of $55.9 billion. This compares with 943 million transactions with a value of $52.2 billion in the September 2007 year.
- The mean transaction value for September 2008 was $54, which was the same as recorded in September 2007 and August 2008. The high for the year ended September 2008 was $59 in December 2007.
- For the year ended September 2008, debit transactions made up 53 percent of all electronic transactions by value (credit was 47 percent). The ratio of debit to credit transactions has remained relatively stable since the beginning of the series in October 2002, with the credit ratio increasing 2 percentage points over that time.
- For the year ended September 2008, 79 percent of electronic transaction spending took place in the retail industries.
Total electronic card transactions
After adjusting for seasonal effects, the total ECT value series was 0.8 percent higher in September 2008 compared with August 2008, which followed on from a 0.9 percent increase in August. The non-retail industries and fuel retailing were the main contributors to this increase, which was partly offset by decreases in apparel retailing and durables.
In September 2008 the total ECT trend series was 5.2 percent higher than in September 2007. This annual trend increase rate has been slowing since January 2007, and has been reducing each month since October 2007. The trend reflects not only changes in consumer spending and prices, but also changes in merchants' and customers' use of payment methods.
Electronic card transactions – retail industries
After adjusting for seasonal effects, the retail ECT value series in September 2008 was unchanged from August 2008. Increases, mainly in the fuel retailing and the consumables industries, were offset by decreases in the apparel and durables retailing industries.
The trend in the retail ECT series flattened between January and April 2008 but has increased from then.
Electronic card transactions – core retail industries
After adjusting for seasonal effects, the core retail ECT value series decreased 0.4 percent in September 2008, following increases of 1.6 percent in August and 1.7 percent in July. The September decrease was largely driven by the apparel retailing and durables industries. These decreases were partly offset by an increase in consumables.
The trend in the core retail ECT series flattened between October 2007 and May 2008, but has been increasing since then, up 1.6 percent since May. An apparent change in the direction of the trend should be treated with caution, as time series analysis suggests more data is required for the direction of the trend to be confirmed.
For all three ECT series, the rate of the annual trend increase has been slowing since October 2007.
Comparing the three series
The impact of rises in fuel prices, which peaked in July 2008, on the retail ECT trend can be seen in the following graph. The trend for the core retail series started to level off after about September 2007 before returning to a stronger increase in the three months to September 2008, whereas for the retail series the flattening of the trend began later and was shorter, strengthening again from April 2008.
The main difference between the two ECT retail series is that the automotive fuel retailing industry is not included in the core retail series. Automotive fuel retailing makes up approximately 80 percent of the value of the difference between the two series. Fluctuations in fuel prices have been a key factor influencing the trend of the retail series in recent months.
Comparison statistics
Comparisons with the Retail Trade Survey
For August 2008 compared with July 2008, the seasonally adjusted figures, as first published, were as follows:
- total retail sales increased 0.4 percent.
- core retail trade sales increased 0.8 percent.
- retail ECT series increased 1.1 percent.
- core retail ECT series increased 1.7 percent.
Other statistics
- For August 2008 compared with August 2007, actual credit card billings in New Zealand (including spending using New Zealand and overseas-issued cards), as issued by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, decreased 3.9 percent.
- For August 2008 compared with July 2008, the Food Price Index rose 2.7 percent.
For technical enquiries, contact:
Henry Minish or Christine Sadler
Christchurch 03 964 8700
Email: info@stats.govt.nz
Next release ...
Electronic Card Transactions: October 2008 will be released on 21 November 2008