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For example, the country's biggest electronics retailer, Harvey Norman, has had slow sales in the first four months of this year and although the retailer has increased sales by some 6.4 per cent to $1.78 billion for the first four months of 2008, the actual figure is down from 7.1 per cent for the first half of 2007.
In a number of recent interviews, Harvey Norman head Gerry Harvey said he expected the retail market to remain difficult for the rest of the year "because of rising inflation, largely driven by higher global petrol and food prices".
And over at competitor Clive Peeters, there is not much to gloat about either.
The company is expected to post revenue at just over $10 million - which is a decline of 25 per cent from the $13.53 million profit for 2006-07.
Buy why believe the retailers when you can go to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) – whose figures showed retail sales fell by 0.2 per cent, seasonally adjusted, in April compared to March, while consumer sentiment remained near 15-year lows.
Clive Peeters managing director Greg Smith was recently quoted as saying, "…trading conditions have deteriorated sharply in very recent months,"
