Australian retail sales increased 2.2% year-on-year in November, with increases in food related categories remaining strong and Black Friday sales delivering a vital boost.
According to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), shoppers spent more than $36.5 billion across the country in November.
Most categories recorded growth, with the most significant year-on-year sales increases came from cafes, restaurants, and takeaway (up 4.3%) and food (up 2.8%), as has been the case in recent months and Department stores which recorded an increase of 3.3%.
Other retailing, including recreational, sporting goods, cosmetics was up 1.2% and household goods recorded its first year on year increase in 2023 (up 0.5%), The only category to record a decline was clothing, footwear and accessories (down 0.1%.)
All states and territories recorded growth year-on-year, led by the ACT (up 5.2%), South Australia (up 4.5%) and Northern Territory (up 4.1%) followed by Western Australia (up 3.5%), Victoria (up 2.3%), Queensland (up 1.7%), Tasmania (up 1.5%) and New South Wales (up 1.2%).
Australian Retailers Association (ARA) CEO Paul Zahra said November’s results were bolstered by essentials such as food, dining out and Black Friday spending.
“While spending expectations heading into the broader pre-Christmas spending period were subdued, the growing popularity of Black Friday gave retailers some much-needed reprieve with shoppers seeking out bargains amid intense financial pressure.
“This certainly contributed to November’s overall spending growth, especially considering the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to raise the cash rate on Melbourne Cup Day.
“Food and takeaway again led the growth, and this is consistent with what we’ve seen all year – shoppers are prioritising the essentials under cost-of-living pressure.
“Shoppers are increasingly feeling the crunch of cost-of-living pressures and interest rate increases, making it a challenging time to be a discretionary retailer,” he said.
CATEGORY |
November 2022 |
November 2023 |
CHANGE |
Food | $13.867 billion | $14.263 billion | +2.8% |
Household goods | $6.218 billion | $6.250 billion | +0.5% |
Clothing, footwear, accessories | $3.081 billion | $3.078 billion | -0.1% |
Department stores | $1.935 billion | $2.000 billion | +3.3% |
Cafes, restaurants, takeaway | $5.180 billion | $5.406 billion | +4.3% |
Other | $5.443 billion | $5.513 billion | +1.2% |
Total | $35.726 billion | $36.511 billion | +2.2% |
STATE | November 2022 | November 2023 | CHANGE |
New South Wales | $11.244 billion | $11.383 billion | +1,2% |
Victoria | $9.194 billion | $9.411 billion | +2.3% |
Queensland | $7.370 billion | $7.495 billion | +1.7% |
South Australia | $2.266 billion | $2.368 billion | +4.5% |
Western Australia | $3.969 billion | $4.111 billion | +3.5% |
Tasmania | $708 million | $719 million | +1.5% |
Northern Territory | $318 million | $331 million | +4.1% |
ACT | $655 million | $689 million | +5.2 % |
Total | $35.726 billion | $36.511 billion | +2.2% |
