Retail sales fell 1.1% in September (seasonally adjusted), better than the preliminary figures last month which showed a 1.5% drop.
September’s fall also improved on the 4.4% fall in August.
For the quarter, retail sales volumes rose a record 6.5%, according to Wednesday’s September retail sales report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The ABS said September saw a 1.5% slide in food retail sales while there was a 3.6% drop in household goods spending thanks to a slowing in the high sales growth for electronic and electrical products (down 7.4%). They had boomed earlier in the year in the first lockdowns.
There was also a 2.2% fall in furniture, floor coverings, houseware and textile goods sales while clothing, footwear and personal accessory sales dropped 1.1%.
Rare positives for September were department stores up 1% while the easing of lockdowns and social distancing rules in most states saw a 3.5% jump in spending in cafes, restaurants and on takeaway food.
The 6.5% in retail volumes rose more than reversed the 3.5% slide in the June quarter and will be a big positive contribution to September quarter GDP.
“The quarterly rise was driven by a recovery in industries that saw sharp falls in the June quarter 2020, as well as continued strength in industries such as food retailing, other retailing and household goods,” according to Ben James, the ABS’ Director of Quarterly Economy Wide Surveys.
“Cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (28.1 per cent), and clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (35.5 per cent) led the rises. Despite the quarter-on-quarter rise, both industries continue to trade below the level of September 2019 in seasonally adjusted volume terms,” he pointed out.
Online sales made up 10.6% of total retail sales in September, a significant rise on the 6.6% share in the same month of 2019.
Mr James said that quarterly volume growth was partially offset by Victoria, which fell 4.2%. New South Wales (with an 11.6% rise) led the rises by state and territory.
But for the good news on consumption for the quarter and the slightly less worse experience in September, the latest payroll and wages data suggests a continuing slow down in employment and incomes.
The ABS said that between the week ending 14 March and the week ending 17 October 2020, payroll jobs were down 4.4% (4.1% at October 3) and total wages were down 5.1% (down 3.3% as at October 3).
The job losses since March 14 seem to have grown in the two weeks to October 17. The ABS said there were approximately 470,000 fewer payroll jobs in businesses (using the ATO system) than on March 14, compared to 440,000 fewer jobs at October 3.
The ABS’s Head of Labour Statistics Bjorn Jarvris said in the release “Nationally, payroll jobs fell for the second fortnight in a row, and were 4.4 per cent lower than mid-March. This fall includes a flattening in payroll jobs for the most recent week.”
“The Accommodation and food services and Arts and recreation services industries have suffered the largest losses in payroll jobs during the COVID-19 period. By 17 October, these industries remained 18.0 per cent and 15.0 per cent lower than mid-March,” Mr Jarvis said.
“The Northern Territory has the lowest payroll job losses since mid-March (1.3 per cent), closely followed by Western Australia (1.4 per cent). Payroll job losses continued to be greatest in Victoria (8.0 per cent).”
“Over the month to 17 October, payroll jobs fell by 1.7 per cent across Australia. Decreases were seen in all states and territories over the month, ranging from 2.1 per cent in New South Wales and Tasmania to 0.6 per cent in South Australia,“ he said.
