Inflation across the Australian fashion industry has risen by 2.6 per cent quarter-on-quarter to June 2025, new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed.
This is the highest quarterly lift across all core product categories, indicating that the prices consumers have paid in clothing and footwear are higher on average. It comes as many brands and businesses in fashion reported a heavy discounting environment over the last financial year.
According to the ABS, the main contributors to the lift in fashion included a 3.5 per cent lift in garment prices and a 5.7 per cent boom for footwear, both driven by new season stock and items returning from sale price following new year promotional activity in the March quarter.
Accessories prices fell 1.4 per cent, with the ABS citing discounting in jewellery.
The quarterly fashion inflation change was well-above the average across all 11 categories including food, furniture and services, up 0.7 per cent.
Over the past twelve months, clothing and footwear prices rose 1.2 per cent. This is more subdued compared to other categories, including alcohol and tobacco alongside education reporting lifts of 5.7 per cent and 5.5 per cent respectively.
Accessories (up 2.3 per cent) and garments for women (up 2.5 per cent) were the main contributors to year-on-year growth.
ABS head of prices statistics Michelle Marquardt said the 0.7 per cent quarterly lift in overall CPI was lower than the 0.9 per cent rise in the March 2025 quarter.
“Annual inflation to the June 2025 quarter of 2.1 per cent was down from 2.4 per cent to the March quarter,” Marquardt added. “This is the lowest annual inflation rate since the March 2021 quarter.”
When prices for some items move by large amounts, measures of underlying inflation like the trimmed mean can give more insights into how inflation is trending, according to the ABS.
Marquardt confirmed the trimmed mean annual inflation was 2.7 per cent to the June quarter, down from 2.9 per cent to the March quarter. Trimmed mean annual inflation remains higher than CPI inflation of 2.1 per cent.”
Alongside fashion, the main contributors to the quarterly rise were housing (up 1.2 per cent), food and non-alcoholic beverages (up 1.0 per cent) and health (up 1.5 per cent). Partially offsetting the rise was a fall in transport (down 0.7 per cent).
The quarterly growth in housing was driven by Electricity (up 8.1 per cent). The second instalments of both the Commonwealth Energy Bill Relief Fund and State government rebates in Perth were used up by households in the previous quarter.
Rebates have the effect of reducing electricity costs for households. This has meant higher out-of-pocket electricity costs this quarter as rebates have been used up.
Brisbane also contributed to the June quarter rise as households in Queensland continued to use up the $1,000 State government rebate.
“While electricity was up this quarter, it’s down 6.2 per cent compared to 12 months ago as rebates remained in place for most capital cities,” Marquardt said.
The rise of 1.0 per cent in food and non-alcoholic beverages was driven by fruit and vegetables (up 4.3 per cent). Strawberries, blueberries, grapes, tomatoes and cucumbers saw price rises following reduced supply, which is typical at this time of year.
The main contributor to the slowing of annual inflation was a large fall in Automotive fuel prices (down 10.0 per cent). Meanwhile, annual price rises for new dwellings (up 0.7 per cent), rents (up 4.5 per cent) and insurance (up 3.9 per cent) continued to slow.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages annual inflation was 3.0 per cent to the June quarter.
Annual goods inflation was 1.1 per cent, down from 1.3 per cent in the previous quarter.
Annual services inflation was 3.3 per cent to the June quarter, down from 3.7 per cent to the March quarter.
“This is the lowest services annual inflation in three years and continues to reflect easing inflation for rents and insurance,” Marquardt said.