Australia’s retailers finished 2015 on a strong footing, with sales results coming in 4.0 per cent higher in December than for the same time the previous year, today’s Australian Bureau of Statistics results show.
The results were in line with the pre-Christmas trading forecasts released by the National Retail Association late last year, and show that retail continues to experience steady growth.
The official Christmas Trade figure for 2015 came in at $44.63bn, compared with the NRA’s forecast of $44.5billion.
NRA Industry Research and Data Analyst Cameron Meiklejohn said the ABS had confirmed that Australia’s had enjoyed a modest and sensible pre-Christmas spending period.
“We always said that is was going to be a ‘sensible’ Christmas, with modest spending growth compared with 2014, and that has turned out to be true,” Mr Meiklejohn said.
“However, this is a good result that gives retailers and their employees reason to be confident as we head into 2016.”
All states and territories enjoyed growth in trend terms during December, with the exception of Western Australia which was unchanged. This was largely in line with the NRA’s pre-Christmas expectations.
Growth was evenly spread across with states, with Victoria the best at 0.4 per cent for the month, but followed by New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, and Tasmania – all with 0.3 per cent for the month.
Predictably, food retailing, household goods, clothing, footwear and personal accessories and department stores all performed strongly in the lead up to Christmas, with 0.4 per cent growth across the board.
Other retailing and Cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services were relatively unchanged in trend terms in December 2015.
Cameron Meiklejohn is available for interviews. Contact the NRA’s media unit on (07) 3240 0163.
The NRA is Australia’s largest and most diverse retail industry organisation, and has been representing the interests of the retail, fast food and broader service sector for around 100 years.