Month-on-month retail sales remained relatively unchanged.  Credit: Kwangmoozaa/Shutterstock.

Retail sales in Australia increased by 2.3% in July 2024, a deceleration from June’s 2.9% year-on-year rise, as consumers faced the dual challenges of inflation and high mortgage rates. 

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, month-on-month retail sales remained relatively unchanged.  

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Total retail spending reached A$36.1bn ($24.42bn) in July, a slight increase from A$35.3bn in the same month the previous year.  

Food retailing registered a 3.2% year-on-year increase seasonally adjusted in July.  

Household goods retailing also saw a more significant rise of 1.5% year-on-year, while clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing, and department stores had marginal gains of 0.5% and 0.1% year-on-year respectively.  

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Cafés, restaurants and takeaway services witnessed a 0.3% reduction year-on-year.  

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Australian Retailers Association (ARA) CEO Paul Zahra said: “Last month, Australians continued to shop on price and value as we saw in the end of financial year sales. Households continue to prioritise essentials like food but also focused on small personal luxuries – cosmetics, sports and recreational goods. 

“As tough times continue, we are seeing the so-called ‘lipstick effect’ play out – where people are having to do more with less. There are trade-offs in this budget-conscious environment, and in July we saw people replacing dining out with food from their local supermarket, allowing some spending on personal luxuries. 

“This remains one of retail’s most difficult years – with a continued slowdown in discretionary spend, high business costs and inflation along with ongoing challenges such as retail crime, supply chain disruptions and the most significant workplace relations reforms in decades.”