Yes, as forecast Victoria’s lockdowns hit retail sales in August, knocking them lower, but what did surprise was the fall in the month outside that state as the retail boom seemingly slowed.
And you can be certain the lockdowns will have a similar impact in September, but will sales outside Victoria also fall for another month?
The preliminary retail sales report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, released on Wednesday showed a 4.2% drop in seasonally adjusted terms from July.
Sales outside Victoria fell 1.5% as sales growth eased in most other states, according to the ABS.
Overall sales though were still 6.9% higher than in August 2019, but that was significantly lower growth than the 12% rise reported in July.
“The result was driven by a fall of 12.6 percent in Victoria,” said Ben James, Director of Quarterly Economy Wide Surveys. “Victoria saw large falls across all industries except food retailing, as Stage 3 and 4 restrictions saw many businesses unable to trade from their physical stores in August.
By industry, the ABS said household goods led the falls but continued to trade well above the levels of August 2019.
Clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing, department stores, and cafes, restaurants, and takeaway food services, had large falls. Food retailing recorded a small fall.
