Lockdowns and COVID restrictions took a hit to the clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing sector in July, new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show.
The sector declined 15.4% (-$354.8 million) in July, with stores closed across the country.
Department stores also fell significantly in the month, with the ABS reporting a 11.4% (-$178.3 million) decline.
"Lockdowns and stay-at-home orders in many parts of Australia continued to impact retail trade in July, with many non-essential retail businesses closing their physical stores," ABS director of quarterly economy wide surveys Ben James said.
"In particular, the first full month of lockdown in New South Wales, following the Delta outbreak in June, saw retail turnover in the state fall 8.9%.
"This was the largest fall of any state and territory since August 2020," he said.
South Australia (-3.3%) and Queensland (-0.9%) also fell in July, driven by COVID restrictions in place for at least part of the month.
All other states and territories rose in July, with Victoria up 1.3% as some restrictions were eased during the period.
"Victorian turnover rose as some restrictions from the prior month were eased further in early July, however, sales remained subdued due to a twelve day lockdown from mid to late July," the ABS said.
Overall, the ABS reported that retail turnover declined 2.7% in July on a month-on-month basis, and 3.1% on a year-on-year basis.