July retail sales stumble almost 1% as doom and gloom return to haunt High St.
ABS latest retail trade figures show retail fell 0.8 percent in July.
This marks a U-turn from the positive trend seen in recent months following a rise of 1.2% in retail sales for June.
Department stores like Myer fell the most out of all retailers (-10.2%), disappointing for Bernie Brookes and Co after recording a strong rise the previous month.
Department stores also remain the weakest performing industry over the longer term (down 0.5% in trend terms), the Australian Bureau Statistics confirmed today.
This was followed by other retailers (-2.8%) and clothing, footwear and personal accessory also stumbled into negative growth territory (-0.9%).
Household goods retailing (2.4%), cafes, restaurants and takeaway foods (0.3%) and food retailing (0.1%) also showed modest increases in trade and is the strongest performing industry over the longer term.
Turnover fell in all states in July, but the largest was New South Wales (-0.8%) which recorded its first fall since February, Queensland (-1.1%), Victoria (-0.4%), Western Australia (-0.6%), South Australia (-0.7%), the Northern Territory (-2.6%), Tasmania (-1.4%) and the Australian Capital Territory (-0.2%).
Resource rich Western Australia remains the strongest performing state (up 0.5% in trend terms) over the longer term.
The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) said the monthly decline confirmed retailers’ fears trade growth would drop after a short term spike driven by federal budget stimulus payments and cooler weather.
“Retailers saw consumer spending fizzle out in July as households began to grapple with the effects of the carbon tax, changes in health fund rules and health insurance rebates. ” said ARA Executive Director Russell Zimmerman.
“The heavy decline in Department stores was also is not surprising given discretionary spending is the first sacrifice consumers make when budgets are tightened.”
The retail body predicts 2012 will see “little to no sustained growth” for the retail sector, and is calling for assistance for retailers in employment relations, tenancy, training and lifting of planning and zoning restrictions
ARA is expecting retail trade figures to drop further from their artificially higher midyear levels as utility bills roll in and are impacted for the first time by increased levies and taxes.
Retail sales in the first six months of 2012 increased 2.8%, according to Deloittes Access Economics Retail research, also released today.
