Retail Sales Are Flagging

ECONOMY – Retail sales are flagging.

“Retail sales fell in the latest three months, which is the first decline seen since April 2018. All main sectors saw their sales fall with the exception of food stores.

“The spending dip in November was the fourth consecutive month to see no growth.”

In the three months to November 2019, the quantity bought in retail sales decreased by 0.4% when compared with the previous three months; this is the first decline since April 2018.

The quantity bought in November 2019 fell by 0.6% when compared with the previous month, with only household goods stores reporting growth.

Year-on-year growth in the quantity bought increased by 1.0% in November 2019; this is the lowest growth since April 2018, owing to a decline of 1.1% in non-food stores.

In 2019, the official Black Friday was on 29 November and outside our November reporting period, which covers four weeks from 27 October to 23 November; our seasonally adjusted estimates account for this shift in timing.

Online sales as a proportion of all retailing was 18.7% in November 2019, compared with the 19.1% reported in October 2019.

ABC Comment, have your say below: