BUSINESS Retail spending surprises
RETAIL spending beat market expectations to register a slight rise of 0.3 per cent in August, with department stores posting the biggest gains.
Seasonally adjusted retail spending for the month was $ 26.87 billion, up from a flat $ 26.79 billion in July, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said yesterday.
Department stores recorded the strongest spending growth for August, up by 0.9 per cent to $ 1.56 billion, having dropped 1.8 per cent the previous month.
Clothing, footwear and per- Department stores lead month’s unexpected gains sonal accessories spending also throughout this year,” chief the rise in retail sales was lifted, up 0.8 per cent for the economist at BIS Oxford Eco“somewhat surprising”, ANZ month, after a 2.1 per cent fall nomics Sarah Hunter said. said in a statement yesterday. in July. She said retail was being An increase in competition
August’s gains were held squeezed by high prices for esfrom the rapidly growing e- reback by flat food retailing sential items, including electailing sector is also challengspending. tricity, gas and health ing bricks and mortar stores.
Some analysts said the rise insurance, while headwinds This week Max Brenner anneeded to be viewed in confacing households including nounced it was going into voltext, with comparisons to a flat snail- paced wage growth and a untary administration, citing July trade not necessarily condrop in house prices had also “escalating costs and tighter firming a booming turnaround weighed heavily on retail retail trade”. for August. spending. Looking at yesterday’s data,
“The increase in August In the face of falling house South Australian spending inisn’t dreadful, but it’s tempered prices and rising fuel charges, creased by 0.8 per cent, the big- by the fact that July was essentially flat, and when you look at those two months together it’s actually not so great and that’s been the story for retail gest rise in the nation, while spending in Tasmania was also robust, up 0.6 per cent, ahead of NSW which rose 0.5 per cent. Spending in WA was flat, however, while the NT saw a 1.3 per cent drop.
Ms Hunter expects spending to continue course of relatively growth.
“It should still grow, but below historical averages as a result from the competition from e- retailing and pressure on households, which aren’t going to go away in the near future,” she said. retail on a slow