Fresh research from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has revealed consistent growth in the retail sector, despite tough trading conditions.
The figures, for May 2012, show that Australian retail turnover rose 0.5 per cent in May 2012, seasonally adjusted, following a rise of 0.1 per cent in April 2012.
The trend estimate for Australian retail turnover also rose 0.4 per cent in May 2012, which marks the strongest rise in dollar terms since June 2010. This follows a rise of 0.4 per cent in April 2012 and a rise of 0.4 per cent in March 2012.
Most industries, on an individual basis, also recorded a rise in May, with the trend estimate for clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing increasing by 0.3 per cent in May 2012 (seasonally adjusted estimate – 0.5 per cent).
By industry subgroup, the trend estimate also rose for footwear and other personal accessory retailing (0.8 per cent), but fell for clothing retailing by 0.1 per cent.
However, the seasonally adjusted estimate rose for footwear and other personal accessory retailing (1.2 per cent) and for clothing retailing (0.1 per cent).
From a state perspective New South Wales (0.7 per cent) recorded its third consecutive monthly rise, while Western Australia (1.1 per cent) was also up, representing the strongest performing state over the longer term.
Victoria (0.5 per cent), Queensland (0.5 per cent) and the Northern Territory (1.6 per cent) also recorded rises in May, in seasonally adjusted terms. There were falls in South Australia (-0.6 per cent), Tasmania (-1.0 per cent) and the Australian Capital Territory (-0.1 per cent).