Percentage change in sales in the retail, accommodation and food services industries in New Zealand
2005 Q1–2026 Q1, % change from the same period in the previous year
| Quarter | % change from the same period in the previous year |
|---|---|
| 2005 Q1 | 8.1% |
| 2005 Q2 | 6.9% |
| 2005 Q3 | 6.9% |
| 2005 Q4 | 4.2% |
| 2006 Q1 | 6.1% |
| 2006 Q2 | 6% |
| 2006 Q3 | 4.6% |
| 2006 Q4 | 7.7% |
| 2007 Q1 | 8.3% |
| 2007 Q2 | 7.6% |
| 2007 Q3 | 5.3% |
| 2007 Q4 | 3.9% |
| 2008 Q1 | 2.2% |
| 2008 Q2 | -0.2% |
| 2008 Q3 | 0.9% |
| 2008 Q4 | -1.7% |
| 2009 Q1 | -5.6% |
| 2009 Q2 | -1.5% |
| 2009 Q3 | -0.1% |
| 2009 Q4 | 2.8% |
| 2010 Q1 | 5.8% |
| 2010 Q2 | 4.9% |
| 2010 Q3 | 3.4% |
| 2010 Q4 | 1.4% |
| 2011 Q1 | 3.1% |
| 2011 Q2 | 3.8% |
| 2011 Q3 | 4.9% |
| 2011 Q4 | 6.8% |
| 2012 Q1 | 5.2% |
| 2012 Q2 | 4.7% |
| 2012 Q3 | 2.1% |
| 2012 Q4 | 2.8% |
| 2013 Q1 | 3.3% |
| 2013 Q2 | 3.3% |
| 2013 Q3 | 4.6% |
| 2013 Q4 | 4% |
| 2014 Q1 | 3.4% |
| 2014 Q2 | 3.9% |
| 2014 Q3 | 4.1% |
| 2014 Q4 | 4.8% |
| 2015 Q1 | 5.1% |
| 2015 Q2 | 4.2% |
| 2015 Q3 | 4.8% |
| 2015 Q4 | 4.5% |
| 2016 Q1 | 5% |
| 2016 Q2 | 5.8% |
| 2016 Q3 | 4.9% |
| 2016 Q4 | 5.6% |
| 2017 Q1 | 7.6% |
| 2017 Q2 | 7.3% |
| 2017 Q3 | 6% |
| 2017 Q4 | 6.3% |
| 2018 Q1 | 3.4% |
| 2018 Q2 | 3.8% |
| 2018 Q3 | 4% |
| 2018 Q4 | 4.5% |
| 2019 Q1 | 3.7% |
| 2019 Q2 | 3.4% |
| 2019 Q3 | 4.2% |
| 2019 Q4 | 3.4% |
| 2020 Q1 | 3.4% |
| 2020 Q2 | -15.4% |
| 2020 Q3 | 7.4% |
| 2020 Q4 | 4.8% |
| 2021 Q1 | 6.2% |
| 2021 Q2 | 37.1% |
| 2021 Q3 | -1.7% |
| 2021 Q4 | 8.8% |
| 2022 Q1 | 8% |
| 2022 Q2 | 3.8% |
| 2022 Q3 | 15.4% |
| 2022 Q4 | 5.4% |
| 2023 Q1 | 4.7% |
| 2023 Q2 | 2.5% |
| 2023 Q3 | 1.1% |
| 2023 Q4 | -0.4% |
| 2024 Q1 | 0.6% |
| 2024 Q2 | -1.6% |
| 2024 Q3 | -2.8% |
| 2024 Q4 | 0.2% |
| 2025 Q1 | 1.4% |
| 2025 Q2 | 2.5% |
| 2025 Q3 | 5% |
| 2025 Q4 | 4.9% |
| 2026 Q1 | 6.1% |
Definitions
Sales: The value of sales of goods and services for the quarter. Sales are published as GST exclusive.
Sales value: Actual values are in current prices and not adjusted for inflation or price effects.
Sales volume: Volumes have had price changes removed and are expressed in September 2010 quarter prices. Volumes make it easier to compare sales now and a decade ago, because it takes into account the effects of inflation.
Stocks: Trading stocks, finished goods and work in progress, materials, fuels etc. on hand at the end of the quarter. Stocks are published as GST exclusive.
Data calculation/treatment
Stats NZ received updated retail trade sales deflators, by industry, for the September and December 2020 quarters.
The updates affected the following series:
- pharmaceutical and other store-based retailing – September 2020 quarter
- fuel retailing – September and December 2020 quarters.
As a result, Stats NZ have updated the actual retail sales volumes for these industries in the corresponding September and December 2020 quarters.
For more information
Limitations of the data
In late January and mid-February 2023, Aotearoa New Zealand was affected by tropical cyclones Hale and Gabrielle. Some activity of businesses in affected regions was impacted by the cyclones. Stats NZ is unable to identify the unique impact from the cyclones on retail sales relative to other factors like consumer behaviour changes due to inflation or COVID-19 related influences like international borders being open.
It is not possible to estimate current trend levels to Stats NZ’s usual quality standard until Stats NZ know the full effect of COVID-19 on the time series. Once the series stabilises, Stats NZ will estimate the COVID-19 effects. The timeframe for this will vary for different series, depending on how they have been affected by COVID-19.
Inclusions
The target population is all kind-of-activity units (KAUs) operating in New Zealand classified on Stats NZ’s Business Register (BR) to Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification 2006 (ANZSIC06) Division G – Retail Trade, and ANZSIC06 Division H – Accommodation and Food Services.
Changes to data collection/processing
From September 2017 quarter, Stats NZ started collecting retail trade data under the new design. They are now using administrative data (goods and services tax (GST)) wherever possible, and supplementing this by surveying only the larger retail businesses.
For more details on these changes, please refer to http://archive.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/industry_sectors/RetailTrade/Methodology-changes-retail-trade.aspx
Data provided by
Dataset name
Retail Trade Survey: March 2026 quarter
Webpage:
https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/retail-trade-survey-march-2026-quarter/
How to find the data
At URL provided, download 'Retail trade survey: March 2026 quarter – CSV' zipped file.
Import & extraction details
File as imported: Retail Trade Survey: March 2026 quarter
From the dataset Retail Trade Survey: March 2026 quarter, this data was extracted:
- Rows: 2,684-5,834
- Column: 3
- Provided: 964 data points
This data forms the table Retail Trade - Percentage change in sales 1996 Q3–2026 Q1.
Dataset originally released on:
May 22, 2026
Purpose of collection
The Retail Trade Survey (RTS) provides short-term economic indicators of the retail trade sector. In addition, Stats NZ use the data for compiling the retail trade sector component of quarterly national accounts (on the production side) and in compiling household consumption expenditure (on the expenditure side).