Wellington, Jun 12 (IANS): New Zealand's total retail card spending fell NZ$113 million ($69.15 million), or 1.7 per cent, in May year-on-year, according to the statistics department Stats NZ on Monday.

Card spending fell across all retail industries, including consumables, durables, apparel, fuel and motor vehicles, as well as the non-retail excluding services category, Xinhua news agency quoted Stats NZ as saying.

Services was the only industry that saw an increase, rising NZ$1.4 million, or 0.4 per cent, compared with April 2023, it said.

The largest contributor to the fall in retail card spending was fuel, down 4.5 per cent, followed by apparel, down 3.7 per cent, Stats NZ said.

The total value of electronic card spending, including the two non-retail categories, decreased by NZ$174 million, or 1.9 per cent, in May 2023, statistics show.

"This is the first time since December 2022 that only one industry saw a rise in spending, and the first time since February this year that total card spending fell," business performance manager Ricky Ho said.

Electronic card transaction data covers the use of credit and debit cards in shops and online, and includes both the retail and services industries, according to Stats NZ.