Australian retail turnover rises with boost in clothing sales in May

Australian retail turnover rose by 0.6 per cent in May 2024, with clothing, footwear, and personal accessory retailing experiencing the largest growth, according to seasonally adjusted figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). This follows a 0.1 per cent rise in April 2024 and a 0.4 per cent fall in March 2024.

Clothing, footwear, and personal accessory retailing saw a notable increase of 1.6 per cent, rebounding after two consecutive months of decline in April and March. By industry subgroup, the seasonally adjusted estimate showed a 1.6 per cent rise ($31.8 million) for clothing retailing and a 1.7 per cent rise ($16.3 million) for footwear and other personal accessory retailing.

Turnover in most non-food-related industries rose in May, indicating a broader positive trend in retail. The growth was also observed across most states and territories, with Western Australia (1.3 per cent) and Victoria (1.2 per cent) leading the way as the only jurisdictions to record growth over 1.0 per cent. Conversely, New South Wales (minus 0.1 per cent) and South Australia (minus 0.1 per cent) were the only areas to see a decline this month, despite having recorded the largest rises in April, as per ABS.

“Retail businesses continue to rely on discounting and sales events to stimulate discretionary spending, following restrained spending in recent months. Despite the seasonally adjusted rise, underlying spending remains stagnant with retail turnover flat in trend terms. Compared to May 2023, trend is only up 1.5 per cent,” said Robert Ewing, ABS head of business statistics.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)