After a large fall in consumer spending in December, January sales have recovered to some extent but even so, one Westpac economist described the figures as “a fairly bleak read”.
Five out of the six sales categories experienced weak growth or actual contractions and clothing sales and department store sales fared the worst. Only the “Other” category, which includes books, recreational goods, cosmetics and toiletries amongst other things, grew by more than an anaemic rate.
Total retail sales (seasonally adjusted) increased by 0.1% in January, after falling by 0.5% in December. On a year-on-year basis, sales grew by 2.1%, down from the previous month’s 2.5% annual rate.