Retail sales bounce back

May trade up 16.3 per cent, exceeding forecasts

RETAIL trade rebounded a record 16.3 per cent in May, following a 17.7 per cent plunge in April, amid a gradual easing of coronavirus-related restrictions during the month.

Retail turnover in May rose to $28.83 billion and was up 5.3 per cent from May 2019, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said yesterday.

The May figures beat economists’ expectations and exceeded even PRE-COVID levels from both February and a year ago. Westpac economist Andrew Hanlan said the jump exceeded the bank’s expectations of a 12 per cent rise.

“This wild ride leaves sales for the year to date some 0.4 per cent below a ‘PRE-COVID’ baseline,” he said in a note.

Retail sales have seesawed sharply in recent months, jumping by 8.5 per cent in March as households stockpiled goods, before diving in April amid restrictions.

NAB was forecasting a 5.5 per cent rise after the Reserve Bank of Australia received feedback from retailers that sales had risen “somewhat”. There were big rises for clothing, footwear, personal accessories and food establishments in May, the ABS said.

Clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing sales more than doubled from April.

Still, spending on cafes, restaurants and takeaway services was down 30 per cent from May 2019.

Household goods spending was also up with consumers spending more on furniture, home entertainment, home offices and home improvement.

The figures released yesterday are based on businesses that make up about 80 per cent of retail turnover, and are subject to revision, the ABS said. The final estimates for May will be published on July 3.

But the initial estimate represents the biggest month-onmonth rise in the 38 years.