The clothing, footwear and personal accessories retailing sector was one of two retail sectors to decline in January, the Australian Bureau of Statistics has revealed in its Retail Trade figures for the month.
The emergence of the Omicron variant and a lack of lockdowns across Australia resulted in mixed results for January, the ABS stated.
As such, clothing, footwear and personal accessories retailing fell 1% (-$25.2m) in January, while the Department Store sector rose 4.9% ($74.5m) in the month.
Overall, Australian retail turnover rose 1.8% in January.
ABS director of quarterly economy wide statistics Ben James said the retailers experienced a varied January, depending on which sector they operate in.
"The emergence of the Omicron variant and rising COVID-19 case numbers, combined with an absence of mandated lockdowns has resulted in a range of different consumer behaviours.
"We have seen the type of spending previously associated with lockdowns occurring simultaneously with those associated with the easing of lockdown conditions.
"This had led to variations across the industries with Food retailing recording a rise in sales consistent with previous COVID-19 outbreaks as consumers exercise caution amidst surging case numbers.
"However, the absence of lockdowns meant that other discretionary industries which would usually see a fall during the pandemic have recorded mixed results," he said.
While the monthly results may have been mixed, the year-on-year figures paint a more positive figure.
According to yearly figures provided by the Australian Retailers Association, the clothing, footwear and personal accessories sector was up 7% in January 2022 when compared to the year before.
Additionally, when compared to January 2020, the sector was up 16.2% in January this year.
The locked-down states are also recovering well according to the ARA's figures, with NSW and Victoria up 5.6% and 8.2% respectively when compared to January 2021.
"Retailers have been resilient throughout the pandemic, and despite all the disruption from Omicron, it’s pleasing to see an increase in sales given the difficult trading conditions for many businesses in January," ARA CEO Paul Zahra said.
"Whilst businesses were battling ongoing supply chain issues and staff shortages due to the rising Omicron cases, it had little impact on consumer spending and the willingness of people to get out and shop," he said.