Fashion sales have swung back by 2.2% in August 2023 compared to August last year, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed.
This was from just a 0.1% nudge up in July, and a 0.5% increase in June.
Across the states and territories, clothing and footwear year-on-year (YoY) spending was highest in Western Australia at 4.8%, followed by the Northern Territory (4.5%), South Australia (4.3%), Australian Capital Territory (4.1%) and Queensland (3.1%).
New South Wales and Victoria recorded smaller lifts at 1.6% and 0.8% respectively, with Tasmania flatlining at 0%.
The movement of clothing sales across Australia matches a similar swing back in total year-on-year household spending for August 2023, lifting from 3.4% in July to 4.8% in August.
ABS head of business statistics Robert Ewing said spending on transport made the largest contribution to the rise in August 2023 household spending.
“Transport spending rose 17.1 per cent over the year, which is higher than the 10.9 per cent growth rate in the 12 months to July,” Ewing said.
“Higher petrol prices, as reported in the August Monthly Consumer Price Index Indicator, as well as spending on holiday travel and public transport contributed to the rise in transport spending.”
In addition to transport, the overall rise in household spending compared to August last year was driven by health (8.0%), hotels, cafes and restaurants (6.9%), and food (4.4%).
Spending on non-discretionary goods and services rose 9.1 per cent, while discretionary spending was flat.
Total sales in August 2022 sales were vastly higher compared to August 2023, at 28.8% YoY.