Survey at a glance
|
Purpose |
To provide short term economic indicators for the wholesale trade sector |
|
Selection process |
Wholesale businesses are randomly selected based on the size of the business and number of employees |
| Population |
Approximately 17,700 |
| Sample |
Approximately 1,300 |
|
Frequency |
Quarterly |
|
Results |
Quarterly Survey of Wholesale Trade |
About the survey
About giving data
About your obligations
About using information
About the Survey
What is the purpose of the Quarterly Survey of Wholesale Trade?
Wholesale trade is an important segment of the New Zealand economy. The industry acts as an intermediary between manufacturers and secondary processors and consumers. The level of wholesale trade activity provides an important measure of the economy. In order to provide this information, Statistics New Zealand conducts a Quarterly Survey of Wholesale Trade. This survey produces timely, short term, indicator statistics on the sub industries within the wholesale segment. The survey provides quarterly data on:
- the value of wholesale sales and
- the value of stockholding.
Further information on the Wholesale Trade Survey
Who is included in this survey?
There are nearly 17,700 businesses within the wholesale trade industry. Statistics New Zealand samples a small proportion of these at the end of each calendar quarter. The sample size varies each quarter and usually between 1,200 and 1,300 businesses. The units surveyed cover the following sub industries:
- Unprocessed primary products
- Primary product food
- Food and grocery products
- Textiles, Clothing and Footwear
- Household goods
- Builder's supplies
- Books and paper products
- Petroleum products
- Pharmaceuticals and toiletries
- Metals and minerals
- Motor vehicles
- Farm and construction machinery and professional, business equipment
- Chemical
- Electrical and electronic equipment
- Machinery and equipment nec
- Wholesale trade nec
What is this information used for?
This information is used by the government (notably the Treasury and Reserve Bank) to monitor the economic performance of the wholesaling industries. Results from the Wholesale Trade Survey are one of the important components of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The information is also used by business and industry commentators as a way of monitoring economic trends and business outlook.
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About giving data
Owner, manager, accountant, etc.
This survey takes place quarterly.
What if my business is not engaged in wholesaling?
Sometimes the framework that Statistics New Zealand uses to classify businesses may differ from how the business itself describes its activities. For instance, in general, wholesaling relates to those industries that buy and sell goods on their own behalf.
There are some circumstances where businesses are engaged in selling goods on behalf of others and deriving a commission from these sales. Statistics New Zealand includes these commission agents in the wholesale industry, even though they may not hold or own stock. Thus if your business is a commission agent, it may be included in the survey sample.
There can also be confusion between retail and wholesale business classifications. In general, wholesale businesses sell to other businesses whereas retailers sell to individuals and households.
If you are unsure why your business has been selected for Wholesale Trade Survey, please ring our survey Help Desk on 0800 809 464 or email us at surveys@stats.govt.nz to determine whether your business has been correctly classified.
What if the contact details about my business are wrong?
Please make the appropriate corrections in the address panel on the survey questionnaire and return it to us. We will then correct our records about your business.
If the details are wrong because your wholesaling business has been sold, please provide information about the new owner by phoning our Survey Help Desk on 0800 809 464 or by sending us an email at surveys@stats.govt.nz.
If the information on the questionnaire is wrong for any other reason, please contact our Survey Help Desk by phoning 0800 809 464 or by sending us an email at surveys@stats.govt.nz.
What businesses are surveyed?
The Wholesale Trade Survey was reselected in 2003. At that time, Statistics New Zealand introduced the use of GST tax data in place of surveying many small businesses. GST data means the sample size was reduced by approximately 1/3rd. Some businesses in the previous sample were reselected for the new sample. These are usually large businesses or businesses that are unusual in their industry segment.
What happens if my business has a seasonal trading pattern?
A number of businesses in the wholesale industries show a seasonal trading pattern, particularly those associated with primary production industries. Seasonality also affects industries which need to build up stock levels for trading peaks like Christmas.
As part of the Wholesale Trade Survey results, allowance is made for these seasonal patterns by seasonally adjusting data. This has the effect of removing the peaks in the results.
If your business has a seasonal influence, it is helpful for us to be aware of this. Please note on the survey questionnaire if you consider there are important seasonal fluctuations.
What happens if I do not have available the information you ask?
The Wholesale Trade Survey seeks information for calendar quarters. For some businesses, this timing is not convenient as it does not match with GST or monthly reporting. We will gladly accept GST information for this survey, even though GST information covers a different time period.
Your business may be reporting GST for a two or six monthly period. We need to know the actual months that your GST return covers. When completing your survey questionnaire, please indicate the GST period for which you are reporting.
Other circumstances like changes to accounting systems or annual accounts preparation can mean the information is not available at the time requested. We appreciate these difficulties occur from time to time. We are happy to work with you to find a satisfactory solution.
If you have difficulty in providing the information requested, please phone our Survey Help Desk on 0800 809 464 or email us at surveys@stats.govt.nz to explain the circumstances. We will work with you to find a solution that meets our needs and is practical for you.
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Why should I provide information to Statistics New Zealand?
Under the Statistics Act 1975 you must provide the information requested by Statistics New Zealand. It is also important that information from all of the businesses surveyed is accurately represented in the statistical results.
Will I be paid for providing information to Statistics New Zealand?
There is no authority for Statistics New Zealand to pay respondents for providing statistical information. Statistics New Zealand tries to spread the obligation for providing data fairly across all businesses and surveys. Where possible, most small and medium sized businesses are included in one or two quarterly surveys.
If you consider that your business is incurring unreasonable time or costs in completing Statistics New Zealand surveys, please phone our Survey Help Desk on 0800 809 464 or by email at surveys@stats.govt.nz so that we can find ways to moderate these demands.
The Statistics Act 1975 states that:
- all information collected under the Act must be used only for statistical purposes
- no information is released by Statistics New Zealand in a form that could enable the person or undertaking to whom it relates to be identified.
Consequently, Statistics New Zealand does not share your information with other government agencies. Other government agencies can provide their information to Statistics New Zealand, but only for statistical purposes. Statistics New Zealand sometimes undertakes a statistical survey jointly with another government department or government agency. In all cases, respondents are informed that it is a joint collection. You may object to information being passed to the other party by writing to Statistics New Zealand. Where this right is exercised, Statistics New Zealand withholds the information from the other party.
Do I have to complete this questionnaire?
If your business has been selected for any Statistics New Zealand survey, you must provide the information requested. We appreciate that completion of survey forms is time consuming and can be difficult from manual accounting records. Some people find it easier to provide the information by fax or by email. If you wish to provide information this way, please contact our Survey Help Desk on 0800 809 464 to discuss these options.
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About using information
Yes, free standard results are available each quarter. Use this link for information on Wholesale Trade Survey. Use this link to access key results of other Statistics New Zealand surveys.
Many statistics are available to you and your business as it is 'public good' information. This means that you can access this information free of charge, from this website, or by contacting our Customer Services staff via email info@stats.govt.nz, or by phone at your nearest Statistics New Zealand office. Our newsletters also contain information which you may find useful. The information available could assist you in business planning and for monitoring business performance.
We can provide feedback to you that compares the results of your business with those of your industry.
We can provide information that could be helpful in determining how your business is performing. For instance we have information that can help in:
- assessing future population trends
- economic monitoring
- target marketing
- profiling an area
- estimating your market share
- assessing consumer spending patterns
- benchmarking your business
If you would like information for use in your business, please phone 0508 525 525 and ask for our customer services section, or send an email to info@stats.govt.nz or view statistics and information about New Zealand pages on this website.
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