The retail trade survey measures the sales and stock of businesses that provide household and personal goods and services - for example car yards, petrol stations, supermarkets, cafes and restaurants, and hotels.
Key facts
For the December 2024 quarter compared with the September 2024 quarter, unless otherwise stated:
- total volume of seasonally adjusted retail sales was $25 billion, up 0.9 percent
- total value of seasonally adjusted retail sales was $30 billion, up 1.4 percent ($422 million)
- all 16 regions had higher seasonally adjusted sales values
- total value of actual retail sales was $33 billion, up 0.2 percent ($60 million), compared with the December 2023 quarter
- total value of actual stock as at 31 December 2024 was $9.4 billion, down 0.5 percent ($49 million) compared with 31 December 2023.
Actual values are in current prices and not adjusted for inflation or price effects. Seasonally adjusted values have had typical seasonal patterns removed. Volumes have had price changes removed and are expressed in September 2010 quarter prices.
| "Quarter" | "Actual " | "Seasonally adjusted" | "Trend" |
| "Dec-2019" | "26709078000" | "24419402000" | "24387534000" |
| "Mar-2020" | "23853477000" | "24341844000" | "24514509000" |
| "Jun-2020" | "19925762000" | "20483680000" | "24534181000" |
| "Sep-2020" | "25092233000" | "26124653000" | "25329840000" |
| "Dec-2020" | "27977684000" | "25658223000" | "25684513000" |
| "Mar-2021" | "25426654000" | "26131590000" | "26284174000" |
| "Jun-2021" | "26511665000" | "27190140000" | "26557287000" |
| "Sep-2021" | "23802707000" | "24729398000" | "26727746000" |
| "Dec-2021" | "29199341000" | "26817737000" | "26764718000" |
| "Mar-2022" | "26007411000" | "26700947000" | "26936108000" |
| "Jun-2022" | "25535164000" | "26213114000" | "26643391000" |
| "Sep-2022" | "24969369000" | "25957760000" | "25813063000" |
| "Dec-2022" | "28026047000" | "25697516000" | "25651797000" |
| "Mar-2023" | "24939197000" | "25453696000" | "25466089000" |
| "Jun-2023" | "24630447000" | "25375944000" | "25361985000" |
| "Sep-2023" | "24113270000" | "25155837000" | "25090290000" |
| "Dec-2023" | "26874739000" | "24656431000" | "24818188000" |
| "Mar-2024" | "24335951000" | "24792795000" | "24672776000" |
| "Jun-2024" | "23742966000" | "24493118000" | "24551438000" |
| "Sep-2024" | "23511900000" | "24499907000" | "24535827000" |
| "Dec-2024" | "26932710000" | "24720835000" | "24681527000" |
Sales volumes up in December
Ten of the 15 industries had higher seasonally adjusted sales volumes in the December 2024 quarter compared with the September 2024 quarter.
By industry, the largest movements were:
- electrical and electronic goods retailing - up 5.1 percent
- department stores - up 4.2 percent
- accommodation - up 7.6 percent
- food and beverage services - up 2.3 percent
- pharmaceutical and other store-based retailing - down 3.4 percent.
| "Industry" | "Volume" | "Value" |
| "Electrical and electronic goods retailing" | "106272000" | " 28962000" |
| "Department stores" | " 78053000" | " 49818000" |
| "Accommodation" | " 58961000" | "140922000" |
| "Food and beverage services" | " 58816000" | "130020000" |
| "Recreational goods retailing" | " 40723000" | " 37802000" |
| "Clothing | " 26410000" | " 26001000" |
| footwear | " 26048000" | " 21394000" |
| and personal accessories" | " 11453000" | " 21277000" |
| "Furniture | " 6182000" | "-26481000" |
| floor coverings | " 2683000" | " 8943000" |
| houseware | "-10288000" | " -2217000" |
| and textile goods" | "-26340000" | "-24873000" |
| "Hardware | "-46109000" | "-17535000" |
| building | "-54586000" | " 7002000" |
| and garden supplies" | "-57351000" | " 21203000" |
| "Fuel retailing" | ||
| "Liquor retailing" | ||
| "Specialised food retailing" | ||
| "Non-store and commission-based retailing" | ||
| "Supermarket and grocery stores" | ||
| "Motor vehicle and parts retailing" | ||
| "Pharmaceutical and other store-based retailing" |
Sales values up in December
Eleven of the 15 industries had higher seasonally adjusted sales values in the December 2024 quarter compared with the September 2024 quarter.
With price effects included, the largest industry movements were:
- accommodation - up 11 percent ($141 million)
- food and beverage services - up 3.3 percent ($130 million)
- department stores - up 2.9 percent ($50 million)
- recreational goods retailing - up 5.1 percent ($38 million)
- electrical and electronic goods retailing - up 3.3 percent ($29 million).
Regional sales values
All 16 regions had higher seasonally adjusted sales values in the December 2024 quarter compared with the September 2024 quarter.
By region, the largest movements were:
- Auckland - up 1.3 percent ($149 million)
- Otago - up 7.8 percent ($125 million)
- Canterbury - up 1.8 percent ($72 million)
- Waikato - up 2.5 percent ($67 million)
- Northland - up 2.9 percent ($26 million).
More regional figures are in tables 7, 8, and 9 of the Excel workbook 'Retail trade survey: December 2024 quarter', under Download data.
Stock values down
Stock figures were recorded as at 31 December 2024. All references to stocks are in actual dollars.
The total value of stock held at 31 December 2024 was $9.4 billion, down 0.5 percent ($49 million) compared with 31 December 2023.
By industry, the largest movements were:
- motor vehicle and parts retailing - down 3.6 percent ($78 million)
- hardware, building, and garden supplies - down 5.2 percent ($77 million).
Data updates
We received updated information affecting results for the September 2024 quarter. We have revised the data in the published series, and affected series are listed with a revision flag in the published tables, CSV files, and Infoshare.
Infoshare changes by date has more information on the data updates and the series affected.
More data
Use Infoshare for retail trade tables:
Subject category: Industry sectors
Group: Retail trade (ANZSIC06) - RTT
Definitions and metadata
Retail trade survey - DataInfo+ provides general methodology used to produce retail trade survey statistics.
Retail trade survey concepts - DataInfo+ gives the definitions of terms used in this release.
Technical enquiries
Divya Sharma
04 931 4600
[email protected]
ISSN 1178-0355
Next release
Retail trade survey: March 2025 quarter will be released on 23 May 2025.
