NAB’s April online retail index for April is out and shows slowing growth:
According to the Index, the value of online sales in Australia for the year to April 2012 was $11.1 billion. However, our research shows a clear slowdown in growth over the past year, with year-on-year growth rates declining to 15.5% in April. The Household goods and Electronics sector was the key driver of this slowdown, with growth rates turning negative in April, at -5%. This sector clearly diverges from other categories, which were stable at or above 20% year-on-year. Weakening in domestic demand and consumer behaviour regarding recent tablet sales may have contributed to this trend. Overall, growth rates for online retail still outstrip traditional retail growth, demonstrating a gradual but steady shift in buying behaviour. Western Australia is driving online growth, with the 30s, 40s and 50s age groups driving an exceptionally strong 32% year-on-year online growth level.
David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal.
He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.
