Retail sales plummeted in April and the loosened lockdown restrictions haven't improved the outlook for the month ahead. Retail NZ says online retail sales are up 350 per cent under alert level 3, but overall sales are down by about 80 per cent on average. Greg Harford, chief executive of Retail NZ, said sales "collapsed" across the sector as uncertainty caused by the pandemic took a toll. "The Covid-19 restrictions will mean that the survival of many retail businesses is on a knife-edge. There are 27,000 retail businesses in New Zealand which employ 219,000 workers.

Source: Otago Daily Times May 03, 2020 21:56 UTC