The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has just released retail sales figures for the month of September, which registered a 0.8% seasonally-adjusted increase in sales over the month versus an expected 0.3% rise. Annual sales growth clocked in at 2.9%:
Monthly retail sales rose in all states, except Western Australia, where sales growth has clearly weakened:
All components registered positive sales growth in September, with the exception of household goods retailing, where the value of sales fell:
You can see from the next chart that the pick-up in sales has been driven by discretionary retail, where growth has picked-up from depressed levels, although it remains below non-discretionary (food) retailing:
Overall, the pick-up in discretionary retail sales suggests that consumers might be unlocking their purse strings, which is a welcome sign for the industry in the lead-up to Christmas. It will be interesting to see how much of this bounce is a snap back following the election malaise.
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