The September 2011 Retail watch report has kindly been supplied by Datamine:

Total retail spend in New Zealand for the 28 days ending 28 September 2011 was $2,293.4 million. This represents an increase of 2.4% from the previous 28 days and an increase of 2.8% from the 28 days ending 28 September 2010. Spending was up big vs the same month last year in Fuel/Service Stations (16.1%) and Cafes/Restaurants/Bars (7%). Liquor spending was up 5% nationwide.

Books & Stationery stores continued their tough run, down 13.8%, and Travel & Accommodation was down 5.4%. Against August 2011 spending, the big jump was in Home & Building Supplies which saw a 14.5% increase, although that’s only up 1.7% on last September.

Regionally, there were a few surprises in September 2011 when compared to September 2010. Cafe/Restaurant/Bar spending was up 11.7% in Canterbury and was positive in every region across the country. Recreation & Entertainment is finally showing some life in the South Island with an overall increase of 15.8% including 16.8% in Canterbury, 18% in Nelson, 14.5% in Otago, and 33.1% in Southland. Supermarket spending was up in every region in the country.

Retailwatch can be used to monitor trends in specific categories that are relevant to you while also building a broader picture of the overall retail environment.

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