Retail turnover grew 0.6% in October, ahead of estimates
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The news: Australian retail turnover climbed 0.6% in October, ahead of average expectations of a 0.3% rise, according to seasonally adjusted figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The numbers: The latest figure follows growth of 0.1% in September and 0.7% in August.
The non-food industries had significant rises for both other retailing (1.6%) and household goods retailing (1.4%). However, there were falls in clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (-0.6%) and department stores (-0.3%).
Both food-related industries rose — cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (0.3%) had its third straight monthly rise, while food retailing (0.3%) bounced back, having seen a small fall last month. Growth in food retailing during the month was driven by liquor retailers, which rose 1.7%.
Retail turnover saw growth across the country with all states and territories rising, except for the Northern Territory (-0.5%). The strongest percentage rises were seen in South Australia (1.3%), Tasmania (1.1%), and Victoria (0.9%).
The context: Retailers told the ABS that sales activity grew in October ahead of the Black Friday sales.
What they said. "The rise in discretionary spending was driven by online discounting events, while people also spent more on electrical goods, particularly televisions and other audio-visual equipment," ABS head of business statistics Robert Ewing said.
The source: ABS media release
