Covid-19 lockdown recovery sees record increase in retail sales for September quarter

Data released by Stats NZ today shows retail sales values have seen the highest jump year-on-year in the three months to September since at least 1995, when records began. But, the rise didn’t make up for the historic fall of 15 per cent ($3.6 billion) in the June 2020 quarter, which was affected by the pandemic. “While Auckland recorded the largest dollar value increase, in percentage terms the increase was lower than that for other main regions, partially due to a further lockdown period,” retail statistics manager Sue Chapman said.