After going crazy in November, Australians appear to have put away their purses and wallets, according to the latest retail sales figures for December.
While five out of the six sales categories fell, lower expenditures on household goods, the category which includes electronic goods such as iPhone X, accounted for almost all of the overall fall in total retail sales during the month. Increased sales of food was largely offset by lower sales of recreational goods, toiletries and cosmetics.
Total retail sales (seasonally adjusted) fell by 0.5% in December, after rising by 1.3% (revised up from 1.2%) in November. On a year-on-year basis, sales grew by 2.5%, down from the previous month’s 2.9% annual rate.