Australian retail momentum witnessed a contraction of 0.1% in December 2024 despite the early Cyber Monday boost, seasonally adjusted data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has shown.
The downturn follows a robust growth trajectory of 0.7% and 0.5% in November and October respectively.
ABS business statistics head Robert Ewing stated: “Retail spending held firm following strong growth in recent months with promotional activity stretched across the quarter.
“Cyber Monday fell in early December and boosted spending to begin the month, particularly on discretionary items like furniture, homewares, electronics and electrical items.”
A detailed examination of turnover results reveals a mixed performance across retail sectors in December.
Household goods retailing emerged as the strongest performer, achieving a notable increase of 1.6% - its fourth consecutive month of growth exceeding 1%.
Department stores also experienced a modest uptick of 0.4%, while food retailing slightly increased by 0.1%.
Ewing continued: “Food retailing was impacted by supply chain disruptions this month, particularly in Victoria, which saw households shift some spending away from supermarkets."
Declines were observed in clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing, which fell 1.8%, alongside other segments which decreased 1.4%. All had reported gains in November.
Cafés, restaurants and takeaway food services experienced a downturn of 0.5%, following a November rise of 1.4%.
The national landscape for retail turnover was characterised by widespread declines across most states and territories, while ABS released quarterly retail sales volume data indicating an increase of 1% for the December quarter of 2024.
This follows a growth rate of 0.5% in the September quarter and a decline of 0.2% in the June quarter.
“Retail sales volumes rose for the second straight quarter, boosted by continuous promotional activity. Sales events throughout the quarter like Black Friday and Cyber Monday saw more discretionary spending on things like furniture, electronic goods and clothing,” Ewing stated.
Per capita retail volumes increased by 0.5% - the first rise since the 2022 June quarter.
Retail price growth moderated to 0.4%, down from a previous increase of 0.6% in the September quarter, based on insights from the latest Consumer Price Index.
