June ABS figures show signs of strengthening retail sector

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has today released its retail trade figures for June 2017 which show signs of a strengthening retail industry, after 12 months of softened growth.

According to the ABS, the seasonally adjusted trend rose a slight 0.3 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms from the previous month following a rise of 0.6 per cent in May. In trend terms, the increase was slightly higher at 0.4 per cent.

The ABS reported a slight rise across all industries from household goods (0.9 per cent) to food retailing (0.2 per cent), and department stores (0.3 per cent).

NRA CEO Dominique Lamb said that the slight increase demonstrates that the industry is once again gaining momentum across all states, nationwide.

“Today’s figures indicate that the retail sector is showing signs of recovery after 12 months of operating amidst a challenging environment,” she said.

“The rise across all industries within the sector is telling that we’re coming out of what has been a long period of sluggish growth,”

Ms Lamb said that the outlook for retailers is improving in the lead up to Father’s Day in September.

“We anticipate a further increase in retail spend in the month of July, as consumers hit the shops in preparation for Father’s Day.”


For more information, contact NRA on 1800 RETAIL (1800 738 245).