Retail sales disappoint again

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By Leith van Onselen

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has just released retail sales figures for the month of July, which registered a 0.1% seasonally-adjusted increase in sales over the month versus an expected 0.4% rise. Annual sales growth clocked in at a meagre 1.9% (2.8% trend):

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Monthly retail sales fell in three states and territories and rose in five, with a flatish result overall:

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It’s also a mixed bag by component, with food retailing and cafes, restaurants & takeaway food,  household goods retailing, and clothing, footwear & personal accessories retailing dominating sales growth over the month, department store sales contracting sharply, and the other segments broadly flat:

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The big fall in Department Store sales might have been the result of a warm winter, except the clothing category did fine elsewhere. Overall, there’s not a lot of joy in this release, with retail sales again disappointing analysts’ expectations and registering only minimal growth over the past year. Sales have also gone backwards since February, with much of the growth that has occurred in the non-discretionary segment (i.e. food retailing).

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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.