Retail spending in February bounced back after a slow January, with almost every retail category seeing an increase in spending month on month according to new data from Stats NZ.

Spending in the retail industries in February 2026 grew by 1.4% or $95 million compared with January, with core industry spending lifting 1.6% or $103m month-on-month.

Breaking it down by category, spending on hospitality had the largest monthly increase, up 2.4% or $35m, with consumable spending growing by 1.8% or $49m.

Spending on durable items also grew, rising by 1.3% or $21m.

Apparel also reversed its decline for the first time in months, with spending lifting by 1.9% or $6.4m.

The non-retail (excluding services) category, which includes medical and other healthcare, travel, tour arrangements and postal and courier delivery, increased by 2.1% or $47m from January 2026.

In negative territory, Kiwis spent less on fuel, down 1.2% or $5.6m, while spending on motor vehicles (excluding fuel) was down 0.5% or $0.9m.

The services category, which includes repair and maintenance, personal care, funerals and other personal services, also had its spending decrease, down 0.5% or $1.8m.

The total value of card spending, including the two non-retail categories, grew by 1.1% or $109m from January 2026.

In actual terms, cardholders made 168 million transactions across all industries in February 2026, with an average value of $55 per transaction.

The total amount spent using electronic cards was $9.2 billion.

Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business, retail and tourism.