Australian retail sales volumes rose 0.2% in the September quarter 2022, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
This was matched with a reported continued drop in online sales for the month of September.
The rise in retail sales volumes was the fourth consecutive rise in quarterly retail volumes, but the smallest since COVID-19 lockdowns ended in October 2021.
ABS head of retail statistics Ben Dorber said sales volumes reached a record level in the quarter, but slowed following 1% quarterly rises in June and March quarters.
He said this reflected the strong rise seen in last week’s Consumer Price Index.
Department stores had the largest volume rise, up 4.4%, followed by cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (3.3%), and clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (3.2%).
ABS said these industries have been the top three in terms of volumes growth in each of the past four quarters, mostly driven by post-lockdown demand.
Household goods retailing recorded the largest quarterly volume fall, down 1.8% in September after a 1.9% fall in June. Food retailing was down 0.6% in September - the industry’s fourth consecutive quarterly fall in volumes, while other retailing also fell 0.5%.
These industries had previously recorded high sales volumes during the pandemic according to ABS.
"The rise in September quarter sales volumes was again driven by those industries most negatively affected by COVID-19 lockdowns last year, where post-lockdown spending remained robust,” Dorber said.
“In contrast, industries that performed better during the pandemic all fell in the September quarter, as sales volumes slowly return to more normal levels.”
Most states and territories saw rises in the September quarter, including the ACT (up 1.7%), NSW (0.6%), Victoria (0.6%), SA (0.3%), the NT (0.3%) and WA (0.1%).
Queensland had the largest fall, down 0.8%, while Tasmania fell 0.3%.
The ABS also reported that total online retailing sales, in seasonally adjusted terms, fell 0.4% (-$15.2m) in September 2022, following a fall of 2% (-$71.2m) in the month prior. Retail sales stood at $3,526.4m in September 2022.
Seasonally adjusted through-the-year sales are down 16.9% (-$716.6m) as online sales were boosted significantly in September 2021, due to the impacts of the Delta outbreak lockdown, when online sales reached record levels.
Whilst online sales are down through-the-year, they continue to remain above pre-Delta levels.