Retail

Australian clothing sector grows in April despite stable retail sales

27 May '23

2 min read

Pic: Shutterstock/Patcharaporn Puttipon4289

Insights

Retail turnover in Australia remained steady in April 2023, after minor increases in March and February 2023.
Only clothing, footwear, and department store sectors saw rises at 1.9 per cent and 1.5 per cent. respectively.
Tasmania saw the most significant drop at -1.5 per cent, while Western Australia recorded the largest rise of 1 per cent.

Australian retail turnover was unchanged in April 2023, following a 0.4 per cent rise in March 2023 and 0.2 per cent rise in February 2023. Clothing, footwear, and personal accessory retailing at 1.9 per cent and departments stores at 1.5 per cent were the only retail categories to rise in April.

Household goods retailing at -1.0 per cent recorded its third straight monthly fall in turnover, while other retailing remained unchanged. There were mixed results across the states and territories with four falls and three rises, while the Northern Territory remained unchanged, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said in a press release.

Tasmania at -1.5 per cent recorded the largest drop, followed by falls in New South Wales, Victoria, and the Australian Capital Territory. The largest rise was recorded in Western Australia at 1.0 per cent followed by smaller rises in South Australia and Queensland.

Ben Dorber, ABS head of retail statistics, said: “The slowdown in retail spending seen since the start of the year has continued in April. Retail turnover has plateaued over the last six months as consumers spent less on discretionary goods in response to cost-of-living pressures and rising interest rates. Spending was again soft in April but was boosted by increased spending on winter clothing in response to cooler and wetter than average weather across the country.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (NB)

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