Covid-19: NZ went hard, early, and then went shopping

Thu, 11 Jun 2020

Retail spending on credit and debit cards bounced back in May as businesses reopened from the covid-19 lockdown, although spending at hotels, motels, cafes and restaurants was unsurprisingly below normal.“Covid-19 saw New Zealand go hard, go early, and then go shopping,” said Westpac Bank senior economist Satish Ranchhod.Stats NZ figures showed seasonally adjusted retail spending on electronic cards rose 78.9 percent in the month of May after falling 47.5 percent in April. Economists had been expecting a lift of about 60 percen...

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