Australian retail sector sees uptick led by clothing & footwear in Feb

30 Mar '24

2 min read

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Insights

Australian retail turnover rose 0.3 per cent MoM and 1.6 per cent YoY in February 2024.
The increase was led by clothing and footwear, up 4.2 per cent, adding $125.2 million.
Department store sales grew 2.3 per cent, with $43.7 million in gains.
Victoria and New South Wales saw notable rises, while Queensland experienced a 0.5 per cent decline.

Australian’s retail turnover saw a modest increase of 0.3 per cent month-on-month (MoM) in February 2024, and a 1.6 per cent rise year-on-year (YoY), according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). This uptick in retail activity comes on the back of a 1.1 per cent increase in January 2024, rebounding from a 2.1 per cent decline in December 2023. The surge in February was notably led by the clothing, footwear, and personal accessory sector, which experienced a significant 4.2 per cent jump, amounting to an additional $125.2 million in seasonally adjusted terms.

Department stores also saw a healthy increase, with sales rising 2.3 per cent or by $43.7 million in the same period, as per ABS.

Geographically, retail turnover improvements were observed across most Australian jurisdictions. Victoria and New South Wales led the charge with increases of 0.7 per cent and 0.6 per cent respectively. Meanwhile, Queensland recorded a downturn, with retail sales dropping by 0.5 per cent, marking it as the jurisdiction with the largest fall in the reported month.

"Seven sold-out Taylor Swift concerts in Sydney and Melbourne boosted retail spending this month, with over 600,000 Swifties flocking to these events. This led to increased spending on clothing, merchandise and accessories,” said Ben Dorber, ABS head of retail statistics.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)

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