WELLINGTON, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand consumers spent more on eating out and on hardware, furniture, and appliances in January 2018, the country's statistics department Stats NZ said on Monday.
This contributed to a 1.4-percent rise in total retail card spending in the month, Stats NZ said.
"Card spending in bars, cafes, restaurants, and takeaway shops led the rise in the hospitality industry," retail manager Sue Chapman said in a statement, adding that spending rose across four of the six retail industries in January 2018, with the largest movements being hospitality, durables including hardware, furniture, and appliances, and fuel.
"Students needing electronic devices and other back-to-school supplies, helped nudge up card spending in the durables industry in January," Chapman said.
Core retail spending, which excludes the vehicle-related industries, rose 1 percent in January 2018, after a 0.2-percent fall in December 2017, she said.
Actual retail spending using electronic cards was 5.3 billion NZ dollars (3.8 billion U.S. dollars) in January 2018, up 3.4 percent from January 2017, statistics show.