Australia's ‘other store-based retailing’ sector – which includes fashion, footwear, homewares, sporting goods, pharmaceuticals and hardware – recorded $249.1 billion in sales income in 2024-25, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data, with total labour costs reaching a record $38.99 billion.
The sector's operating profit before tax was $19.87 billion in 2024-25, down from $20.05 billion in 2023-24 and marginally below the $19.99 billion recorded in 2022-23. The result marks three consecutive years in which operating profit has held within a narrow band, following a sharp rise from $8.07 billion in 2018-19.
Operating margin – measured against sales income – was 8 per cent in 2024-25, compared with 8.1 per cent in 2023-24 and 4.5 per cent in 2018-19.
EBITDA rose to $27.35 billion in 2024-25, from $26.49 billion in 2023-24, representing a margin of 11.0 per cent against sales income.
Meanwhile, ‘other store-based retailing’ sales income growth slowed to 1.1 per cent in 2024-25, from 2.9 per cent in 2023-24 and 5.3 per cent in 2022-23.
These movements come as the sector’s total labour costs climbed to 15.6 per cent of sales income in 2024-25, up from 15.5 per cent in 2023-24 and a recent low of 14.1 per cent in 2021-22. The figure was last at this level in 2006-07, when the sector recorded a labour cost ratio of 15.8 per cent.
Wages and salaries reached $33.61 billion in 2024-25, up from $33.11 billion in 2023-24.
Other store-based retailing’s drop in operating profit before tax matched a similar drop across all industries in the Australian economy when aggregated.
ABS head of business insights and statistics Tom Lay said there were mixed impacts across Australian businesses, as five industries reported falls in profits and fourteen industries recorded a rise in profits. Despite the slip in operating profits in ‘other store-based retailing’, overall retail trade saw a lift in OPBT by 1.4 per cent to $38.8 billion.
Lay added that the overall fall in profitability was driven by the mining industry which recorded strong falls in operating profits for the second year in a row.
The Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services industry had the biggest rise in 2024-25, with a $20.2 billion increase in Operating Profits. Rising transaction volumes, occupancy rates and commissions across commercial and residential properties contributed to this rise.
The ABS figures also show employment data, with the ‘other store-based retailing’ sector employing 750,800 people at the end of June 2025, down from a series high of 754,200 in June 2024. The sector employed 696,300 people at the end of June 2019.
Purchases of goods and materials in the sector as a proportion of sales income fell to 60.7 per cent in 2024-25, from 61.1 per cent in 2023-24 and a series high of 66.1 per cent in 2021-22.
Industry value added was $64.02 billion in 2024-25, up from $62.38 billion in 2023-24. The figure was $39.77 billion in 2018-19.
Total expenses were $232.12 billion in 2024-25, compared with $227.61 billion in 2023-24.