Australia’s clothing, footwear and accessories market passed $3.1 billion in monthly spending in March 2025, the highest it has ever been.
This is according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), which confirmed this is $200 million higher than a year ago in March 2024.
As a percentage, fashion spending lifted a 5 per cent year-on-year in March 2025, above the overall percentage lift for all of retail spending in the same timeframe, which lifted by 4 per cent, or $1.6 billion.
All categories were up year on year. The ‘other retailing’ category – which includes cosmetics, sports, and recreational goods – experienced the most significant increase (up 9.0 per cent year-on-year), followed by clothing, footwear and accessories.
Spending in the categories of food, department stores and household goods all rose 4 per cent over the past year. There was marginal growth in cafes, restaurants and takeaways, which increased by only 1 per cent.
Despite the “encouraging” result, cost-of-living pressures and economic uncertainty continues to impact consumer behaviour, according to Australian Retailers Association chief industry affairs officer Fleur Brown.
“With a delay in interest rate relief, household budgets remain tight, and retailers are operating in a highly competitive and volatile environment with rising business costs,” Brown said. “Any signs of stability in consumer spending are a welcome boost to business confidence, but we remain far from a retail recovery.
“Alongside the cost-of-living crisis, retailers continue to be impacted by years of rising costs - from rent and wages, to energy, insurance, transportation and all kinds of supply chain impacts.”
National Retail Association interim CEO Lindsay Carroll said retailers are beginning to see the sunny side up of spending after a few years of dreary sales.
“The March data is an encouraging sign that retailers are beginning to bounce back from strained spending and high business costs,” Carroll said.
“However, premature shop closures triggered by cyclone warnings undercut sales in parts of the nation, namely Queensland and New South Wales, at a time when every dollar counts for business owners.
“Events like these remind us how vulnerable the sector remains to sudden disruptions.
Carroll said retailers need greater support to adapt quickly and safely during extreme weather events, “without sacrificing their livelihood.”
“Consumer confidence is showing early signs of recovery, we just need policymakers to help the sector keep up this momentum,” she said.
In month-on-month terms, Australian retail turnover rose 0.3 per cent, following a lift of 0.2 per cent in February 2025 and 0.4 per cent in January 2025.
ABS head of business statistics Robert Ewing said retail spending continues to grow at a steady pace, with food-related spending in supermarkets and grocery stores the main driver of growth.
“Supermarket and grocery store sales were especially strong in Queensland where households stockpiled essentials in anticipation of Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred,” he said.
Food retailing (0.7 per cent) had the largest rise, alongside other retailing (0.7 per cent). This was followed by a smaller increase in clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (0.3 per cent). Household goods retailing was flat.
Cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services and department stores both fell by 0.5 per cent.
The key driver for fashion was footwear and accessories, with spending up $5.6 million or 0.6 per cent month-on-month. Clothing retailing was up just 0.1 per cent or $2.5 million.
Monthly retail turnover rose in all states and territories, except for Queensland (down 0.4 per cent) as Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred negatively impacted spending.
“The extreme weather early in the month led to significant disruptions for businesses and households throughout Queensland,” Ewing said.
“Strong spending in food retailing thanks to precautionary buying wasn’t enough to offset other impacts. These included temporary business closures for many retailers, particularly cafes and restaurants, while people were also advised to stay home and avoid unnecessary travel.”