Retail turnover in Australia inches up in September

It went up by 0.6%, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported. 

Retail turnover in Australia went up by 0.6% in September, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported. 

This is the ninth consecutive month the market saw an increase, following a 0.6 % increase in August and 1.3% in July. 

“This month’s rise was again driven by the combined strength in the food industries. Food retailing rose 1%, while cafes, restaurants, and takeaway food services rose 1.3%,” Ben Dorber, ABS head of retail statistics, said.

“Many retailers remained open for the National Day of Mourning, an additional one-off public holiday in September, and this boosted spending on food, alcohol and dining out.”

Read more: Australia’s retail sales inch up in August

Clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing saw the highest rise in percentage, up 2% following a large fall of 2.% in August 2022. Other retailing also rose, up 0.2%.

Meanwhile, household goods retailing fell 0.8%, a slight decrease after last month’s large rise of 2.6%. 

The fall in September was softened by the release of new mobile phone models and is the fourth monthly fall in household goods retailing in the last six months. Department stores also fell, down 0.4%.