AUS
NZ
UK
CA
USA
IND
Highlights
- An ABS report highlighted a 0.2% decrease in Australian retail turnover for October 2022.
- ABS states this decline to be the first of 2022.
- Australia’s retail turnover totalled 12.5% higher than the last year.
On 28 November 2022, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released data for Australia’s estimates of turnover and volumes for retail businesses in October 2022. These stats also include in-store and online sales data.
As per the ABS report, Australia’s seasonally adjusted retail turnover dropped by 0.2% during October 2022, totalling AU$35,017.9 million. However, Australian retail trade saw an increase of 12.5% over the last comparable period (October 2021).
ABS stated that this is the first monthly decline in retail sales for the year 2022. Retail trade increased by 0.6% in both August and September months.
A glance at industry-wise Australian retail trade
According to the ABS data, except for the food retailing industry, all industries had a decline in retail turnover on seasonally adjusted terms for the month of October.
Food retailing rose by 0.4%, driven by flood-related spending in some parts of Australia, which led to higher-than-normal food prices.
Household goods retailing fell by 0.5% in October 2022. Retail sales of household goods fell for the second consecutive month, marking its fifth decline in the previous seven months.
Clothing, footwear, and personal accessory retailing witnessed a 0.6% drop during October month, following a strong 2% increase in September.
Department stores retailing had the largest fall of 2.4% for October in seasonally adjusted terms. This was the second consecutive month of decline in department stores.
Cafes, restaurants, and takeaway food services retailing was the only industry to experience its first decline since January 2022, dropping 0.4% in seasonally adjusted terms.
“Elevated post lockdown demand and price increases had boosted sales throughout the year in cafes, restaurants, and takeaway food services. A slowdown in growth in recent months, capped off by the fall in October, shows trading conditions continued to normalise,” stated Ben Dorber, head of retail statistics at ABS.
Lastly, other retailing fell by 0.2% in October 2022.
Commenting on these retail turnover estimates, Mr Dorber said:
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Data Source: ABS media release dated 28 November 2022
States and territories-wise retail turnover
Most Australian states and territories witnessed decreases in retail turnover during October 2022. The largest fall of 1.8% was taken by the Northern Territory, followed by Tasmania, with a 1.7% decrease. The retail turnover for the Australian Capital Territory and Queensland fell by 1.4% and 0.4%, respectively. Lastly, retailing in both New South Wales and Victoria regions dropped by 0.1%.
