Growth figures of domestic retail sales have been declining since 2014 and they hit a low point in September 2017. Annual growth rates then began increasing for about a year, only to stabilise at around 3.0% to 3.5% through late-2018 and early-2019. The previous three months’ reports had provided some encouraging figures but this latest report may represent a return to a weakening trend.
According to the latest ABS figures, total retail sales contracted by 0.1% in April on a seasonally-adjusted basis, less than the +0.2% increase expected and well under March’s increase of +0.3%. On an annual basis, retail sales increased by 2.8%, down from March’s comparable figure of 3.5%.
Westpac senior economist Matthew Hassan said, “While the timing of public holidays may have been a factor in April, both the sub-category and state detail point to wealth-effect spillovers from the Sydney and Melbourne led housing market corrections weighing on sales.” He described the result as “clearly soft” and also said there were signs “wealth effect drags may be intensifying.”