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Fridges, washing machines on display - Source: ONE News
Appliance purchases helped drive a 1% rise in sales volumes in the December 2009 quarter.
Total sales volumes for the quarter rose for the third quarter in a row, according to Statistics New Zealand's Retail Trade survey.
Appliance retailing has been the largest upwards contributor to volumes over the last three quarters.
Cafes and restaurants and 'other retailing', which includes garden supplies and jewellery, also contributed to the rise in sales volumes.
The biggest decrease by volume was automotive fuel retailing.
The volume of core retailing, which excludes vehicle-related industries, also rose - up 1.3%.
Statistics New Zealand says that despite the increase in total sales volumes, figures have only clawed back a quarter of the ground lost since March 2007's peak.
The value of retail sales also climbed, up 1% to $170 million.
The increase led by an $88 million rise in automotive fuel retailing, followed by a $61 million rise in sales at cafes and restaurants.
Statistics New Zealand says the rise in fuel retail values, despite a drop in volumes, suggests higher prices at the pump.
The biggest downward contributor to retail sales was supermarket and grocery store sales which dropped $43 million.
ASB economist Christina Leung says that while December month retail values were weaker than expectations, over the December quarter retail sale volumes actually point to a recovery in consumer spending.
"Encouragingly, spending on big-ticket items show signs of improvement with vehicle sales continuing to recover from very weak levels earlier last year." says Leung.
However, she says the recovery in consumer spending looks to be a gradual one, and with household credit remaining subdued in recent months, people are still cautious about spending.
