Where have Australian consumers spent over $15 billion in the past year?
Online sales continue to rise, according to the latest figures from the National Australia Bank’s online retail sales index.
The research indicates that Australians have spent up to $15.2 billion over the internet in the year to March 2014, with department and variety stores and fashion categories recording strong growth.
This level is equivalent to 6.6 per cent of spending with traditional bricks and mortar retailers (excluding cafés, restaurants and takeaway food to create a like-for-like comparison) in the year to February.
In year-on-year terms, the online index grew 12.5 per cent, a rate more consistent with January (11.8 per cent) than February (+8.3 per cent).
Online retail sales for the month of March were also up. In seasonally adjusted three-month moving average terms online sales expanded 0.3 per cent (from a flat February).
Sales growth for traditional bricks and mortar retail, however, has also improved in recent months, maintaining momentum of about +0.7 per cent, in February (seasonally adjusted, three-month moving average basis).
Despite the positive figures, however, two retail categories which have again contracted are daily deals and personal and recreational goods.
Of the categories, groceries and liquor growth have remained the strongest, continuing their upward trajectory for consumer spend.