Retail spending declines for Q1

Fri, 22 May 2020

Retail trade spending volumes declined 0.7 percent in the first quarter, marking the first contraction in the quarterly retail sales volumes since mid-2015 and the largest decline in eight years. The fall was milder than ASB Bank had expected, however, “retail spending looks to have run into a brick wall in Q2 as the covid-19 outbreak and associated restrictions took effect,” it said. While the shift to level 2 halfway through the quarter has meant that more of the retail sector is operational, levels of retail spending ar...

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