Retail turnover in Australia increased 0.3% in January 2025, according to seasonally adjusted data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The modest rise comes after a 0.7% increase in November 2024 and a 0.1% decrease in December.
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ABS business statistics head Robert Ewing stated: “While the pick-up in retail spending since mid-2024 has been boosted by more discretionary spending, this month’s rise is mostly driven by food-related spending.”
There was a notable recovery in food-related expenditure, with cafés, restaurants and takeaway services experiencing growth of 1.1%, and food retailing seeing a 0.7% increase.
Ewing stated: “Bumper crowds across large-scale events, including record attendance at the Australian Tennis Open and cricket events, lifted spending in catering services. Food retailing also rebounded in January, particularly in Victoria where supply chain disruptions negatively impacted December supermarket spending.”
During the month, gains were observed across most non-food sectors, with other retailing leading with 2.4% growth, followed by clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing at 2%, and department stores at 0.6%.
However, these increases were partially negated by a significant drop of 4.4% in household goods retailing.
“The fall in household goods follows four straight rises driven by widespread discounting activity around Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales events. Consumers bought furniture and electrical goods in earlier months to take advantage of the large discounts on offer,” Ewing added.
Retail turnover experienced growth across most Australian states and territories, except in New South Wales which saw a minor decline of 0.3%, while the Northern Territory remained relatively stable.
