Retail Turnover Weak, Up Only 0.1%: Australia

Australian retail turnover rose 0.1 per cent in April 2024, according to seasonally adjusted figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

This followed a 0.4 per cent fall in March 2024 and a 0.2 per cent rise in February 2024.

Ben Dorber, ABS head of retail statistics, said: "Underlying retail spending continues to be weak with a small rise in turnover in April not enough to make up for a fall in March.

"Since the start of 2024, trend retail turnover has been flat as cautious consumers reduce their discretionary spending."

Trend estimates from March 2020 to June 2022 are not available due to the degree of disruption and volatility caused by COVID-19. Trend estimates throughout the pandemic period are likely to be unhelpful and potentially misleading for users in interpreting underlying trend in retail activity.

Turnover in most non-food related industries rose in April. Other retailing (+1.6 per cent) had the largest rise this month, followed by household goods retailing (+0.7 per cent) and department stores (+0.1 per cent).

Clothing, footwear, and personal accessory retailing (-0.7 per cent) fell.

"The relatively earlier Easter and the different timing of school holidays across the country meant we saw some added volatility in turnover in March and April," Mr Dorber said.

"Looking across the past two months, we see weak underlying spending in most parts of the retail industry."

Food-related spending was mixed with a fall in food retailing (-0.5 per cent), while there was a small rise in cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (+0.3 per cent).

"The fall in food retailing is a partial reversal of last month's rise of 0.8 per cent, where the earlier-than-usual Easter boosted spending, particularly on alcohol," Mr Dorber said.

"Retailers told us spending on alcohol dropped off as consumers brought purchases forward into March and because they are increasingly opting for cheaper alcoholic products."

Retail turnover growth was mixed across the country. New South Wales (+0.7 per cent) saw the largest rise, followed by South Australia (+0.5 per cent).

Please note: Retail turnover was relatively unchanged in April 2024 for Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.