New data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows retail turnover rose just 0.1% in April 2024, with liquor spending dropping off after Easter.

This followed a 0.4% fall in March 2024 and a 0.2% rise in February 2024.

Food-related spending was mixed with a fall in food retailing (-0.5%), while there was a small rise in cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (+0.3%).

ABS head of retail statistics Ben Dorber said: “The fall in food retailing is a partial reversal of last month’s rise of 0.8%, where the earlier-than-usual Easter boosted spending, particularly on alcohol. 

“Retailers told us spending on alcohol dropped off as consumers brought purchases forward into March and because they are increasingly opting for cheaper alcoholic products.” 

Turnover in most non liquor and food retail related industries rose in April. Other retailing (+1.6%) had the largest rise this month, followed by household goods retailing (+0.7%) and department stores (+0.1%). Clothing, footwear, and personal accessory retailing (-0.7%) fell.

“The relatively earlier Easter and the different timing of school holidays across the country meant we saw some added volatility in turnover in March and April,” Dorber said. 

“Looking across the past two months, we see weak underlying spending in most parts of the retail industry.” 

Retail turnover growth was mixed across the country. NSW (+0.7%) saw the largest rise, followed by South Australia (+0.5%).

Retail outlook subdued

Oxford Economics Australia Head of Macroeconomic Forecasting Sean Langcake described the rise as meagre, saying retail sales have been broadly unchanged over the past seven months.

“Consumers have reigned in their spending in response to a host of cost-of-living pressures, causing retail sales growth to grind to a halt over much of the past year,” Langcake said.

“There is some help on the way for household finances from the May budget, with tax cuts and subsidy payments set to boost cashflow from July.

“But this is unlikely to be enough to completely shake consumers out of their current funk. We expect momentum in retails sales will remain subdued over 2024.”

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