Retail turnover up 0.9 per cent in September: Australia

Australian retail turnover rose 0.9 per cent in September 2023, according to seasonally adjusted figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

This follows rises of 0.3 per cent in August 2023 and 0.6 per cent in July 2023, revised up from previously published estimates.

Ben Dorber, ABS head of retail statistics, said: "The strong rise in September came from a diverse range of factors across the Retail industry.

"The warmer-than-usual start to spring lifted turnover at departments stores, household goods and clothing retailers, with more spending on hardware, gardening, and clothing items. Also adding a boost to turnover in household goods retailing was the release of a new iPhone model and the introduction of the Climate Smart Energy Savers Rebate program in Queensland.

"While the rise in September was the largest since January, subdued spending for most of 2023 means that underlying growth in Retail turnover remains historically low. Retail turnover in trend terms is up only 1.5 per cent compared to September 2022 - the smallest trend growth over 12 months in the history of the series."

Most industries recorded growth this month, with rises in all non-food related industries. Department stores (+1.7 per cent) recorded the largest rise of the non-food industries, followed by household goods retailing (+1.5 per cent), other retailing (+1.3 per cent), and clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (+0.3 per cent).

"The rise in Other retailing was mostly from a temporary boost in turnover for pharmacies after the introduction of 60-day prescriptions and an associated initial shift forward of income from Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme medicines."

Food retailing rose 1.0 per cent following two consecutive monthly falls, while cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services was flat after being notably higher during the year.

Retail turnover growth was up in all states and territories. Queensland (+0.5 per cent) was temporarily boosted by the popular response to the Climate Smart Energy Savers Rebate program for households to upgrade appliances such as washing machines, dishwashers, refrigerators, and dryers.

The latest Consumer Price Index showed that inflation rose again this quarter, however growth continued to be lower than that seen throughout 2022.

"To see the full effect of changing consumer prices on recent retail turnover growth, it will be important to look at quarterly retail sales volumes which we release next week," Mr Dorber said.

Additional information on the September reference period, including quarterly price and volume data, will be released on 3 November 2023.

The ABS would like to thank businesses for their continued support in responding to our surveys.