The Australian Bureau of Statistics has revealed that clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing rose 6.8% in October, in seasonally adjusted terms.
According to the data, clothing retailing drove the rise for the segment, with clothing increasing 10.8%, while footwear and other personal accessory retailing fell 1% in October.
Meanwhile, department stores also experienced an increase in October, rising 4.5%.
ABS director of quarterly economy wide surveys Ben James said that Victoria's reopening helped to bolster the industry through October.
"The reopening of physical stores in Victoria led to national rises for cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (5.4%), clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (6.8%), other retailing (2.0%), and department stores (4.5%)," he said.
Geographically, Victoria (5.1%) led state and territory rises, with rises also experienced in New South Wales (0.7%), Western Australia (1.0%), and South Australia (0.6%) in October.
Queensland (-0.5%), Tasmania (-1.4%) and the Northern Territory (-0.6%) fell, while the Australian Capital Territory (-0.1%) was relatively unchanged during the period.
Overall, the ABS reported that retail turnover rose 1.4% in October, updating the preliminary result of 1.6%.
At the national level, turnover rose 7.1 per cent compared to October 2019.
As has been the trend of 2020, online sales remained strong in October, making up 10.4% of total retail turnover in the month, compared to 6.6% in October 2019.
According to Australian Retailer's Association (ARA) CEO Paul Zahra, the figures show that the industry is on a good trajectory to have a strong Christmas period.
"By all reports, we are on track to have a robust Christmas trading period, with some strong November sales.
"This is a heartening result bringing a positive close to what has been a horror year for many - particularly in Victoria.
"With Christmas trading delivering up to two thirds of a retailer’s profits, this will replenish cash reserves and help retailers prepare for what will hopefully be a less disrupted year ahead," he said.
Zahra added that while this year has driven many innovative changes for retail, the organisation is mindful of the impending JobKeeper and JobSeeker shut off.
"We have maintained that this year will ultimately be transformative for retail, however we are mindful of the uncertainty surrounding March next year when JobKeeper and JobSeeker are scheduled to end.
"With international borders remaining closed, we may see some international tourism spending diverted to retail in the early months of next year.
"However the removal of Federal stimulus without a broader economic rebound will undoubtedly affect retail spend and broader consumer confidence," he said.