Quake cut sales $8 million

Canterbury retailers dropped more than $8 million in sales in the 24-hour aftermath of Saturday's 7.1 magnitude earthquake which devastated much of Christchurch's central business district.

Following the Government's announcement of an up-to-$100 million wage subsidy to assist Canterbury businesses to keep employees with their companies in the weeks ahead during rebuilding, eftpos supplier Paymark on Tuesday released trading figures saying between Saturday and Sunday eftpos spending in Canterbury was down 32% - reflecting an $8.1 million year-on-year deficit.

Saturday sales were down 43% and on Sunday sales were down 18% on last year, Paymark chief executive Simon Tong said in a statement on Tuesday.

"We've been working closely with banks, telecommunications companies and our partners to ensure that our network continues to operate smoothly for these retailers," Mr Tong said.

There is rising concern that the recession-hit Christchurch businesses, combined with the weekend destruction of premises and time it will take to replace buildings, will see many companies unable to resume trading.

Mr Tong said some of the hardest-hit retailers during the weekend, who would normally be experiencing a sales boost from Father's Day sales, included gift stores, with spending down 81%, camera/photo shops, down 79% and electronics stores, down 77%.

To ease the burden on businesses which have been unable to trade since the earthquake, Mr Tong said Paymark was offering a waiver on some, or all, of their eftpos terminal fees.

The downturn in trading during the weekend came on the back of a tough month for Canterbury, with year-on-year statistics showing the region was down 0.6% for August.

Difficult winter trading was felt by much of the country, with spending, excluding petrol stations and supermarkets, down 0.4% on August 2009, and annual growth of only 0.2% in the past four months.

Father's Day spending across the rest of the country provided relief for some sectors, with jewellery/watch spending up 21% Friday to Sunday (on last year), household appliances up 23% and restaurant spending up 10% on Father's Day.