Australian retail sales received a sustained boost from pent up demand as consumers emerged from COVID Delta lockdowns with another big jump in November which exceeded economists’ estimates.
November retail sales rose by a seasonally adjusted 7.3 per cent to $33.41bn according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. That followed a 4.9 per cent increase in October.
The November jump was more than twice Bloomberg’s consensus estimate of 3.6 per cent.
It came after sales fell a total of 6.2 per cent between June and August 2021 amid Covid lockdowns.
It was also the biggest monthly increase since a 16.6 per cent rise in May 2020 after a 17.4 per cent plunge in the first round of Covid lockdowns in April that year.
By industry, the biggest increases occurred in consumer discretionary goods. Household goods retailing rose 11.6 per cent, clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing surged 38.2 per cent, department stores jumped 26 per cent, cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services rose 9.9 per cent and other retailing rose 7 per cent, while food retailing fell 2.5 per cent.
Online retail sales fell 8.7 per cent to be 14.3 per cent below a peak in September 2021.But despite consumers being able to shop more easily in store following lockdowns, online retailing turnover continues to remain elevated, the ABS says. Compared to November 2020, online retailing turnover was up 22.8 per cent or $692.1m.
