"As COVID-19 restrictions eased in December across most of the country, New Zealanders had access to a wider range of products and services, such as hairdressers and personal care services, that they could spend their money on," business performance manager Ricky Ho said.

Compared with last month, seasonally adjusted total retail card spending rose $24 million (0.4 percent), and spending on services increased by $47 million (16.6 percent).

Within the retail industries, the fuel industry had the highest increase from last month, rising $23 million (4.2 percent).

"The increase in spending on fuel is not surprising, as the easing of restrictions and opening of the Auckland border allowed more people to go on holiday over the Christmas break," Mr Ho said.

"Though there has been an overall increase in spending from the last few months, we are still recovering from the effects of the latest lockdown."

Spending on durables in December dropped $128 million (7.2 percent), likely due to higher spending in November which coincided with Black Friday sales.

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Statistics New Zealand published this content on 18 January 2022 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 18 January 2022 22:11:08 UTC.