Retail sales turnover up 0.6% in May as sales hit early
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The news: Retail turnover increased 0.6% in May on a seasonally adjusted basis, but remains flat in trend terms.
The numbers: The biggest boost was for clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing, up 1.6%. This followed two consecutive slumps in April and March. Meanwhile household goods retailing was up 1.1%. Department store turnover fell 0.9%.
Food retailing was up 0.7% but there was a 0.1% decline in cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services.
Western Australia and Victoria were the states with the biggest growth over the month, up 1.3% and 1.2% respectively. There was a 0.1% decline in NSW and South Australia, off the back of rises in April.
The context: The previous two months showed an ongoing slump in retail and multiple surveys indicate discretionary spending has slowed. Last week, Reserve Bank deputy governor Andrew Hauser said these figures were among the data points the central bank would be considering in the lead up to its August rate decision.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is attributing some of the upswing to early end of financial year sales, with bigger-than-normal discounts helping boost activity. Shoppers continue to be price sensitive and sales events create noticeable upticks in the data.
What they said: "Retail businesses continue to rely on discounting and sales events to stimulate discretionary spending, following restrained spending in recent months," said ABS head of business statistics Robert Ewing.
The source: Australian Bureau of Statistics media release
