Household spending on clothing and footwear has surged by 6.9 per cent year-on-year to $3.1 billion in May 2026.
This is according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), which also shows that overall retail spending increased 5.8 per cent in the same timeframe.
The year-on-year surge in fashion spending adds to a 2.7 per cent lift between April 2026 and May 2026, which is a stark turnaround from a 2.2 per cent fall between March and April.
Across the states and territories, monthly clothing and footwear spending was up strongest in Victoria (up 3.5 per cent), followed by Queensland (up 2.9 per cent) and New South Wales (up 2.8 per cent). Growth was down in the ACT (down 0.1 per cent), and more subdued in Tasmania (up 0.8 per cent) and Western Australia (up 0.4 per cent).
Meanwhile, department stores and large online retailers saw growth of 4.9 per cent to $1.7 billion between May 2025 and May 2026. Looking back over the last 14 years, this space has not been able to surge past the $2 billion mark, with average monthly spending in the category sitting at $1.5 billion in the second half of 2012.
The Australian Retail Council (ARC) welcomed these uplifts, with modest year-on-year growth across all core retail categories, including food retailing (up 4.2 per cent), household goods (up 6.4 per cent) and cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (up 7.2 per cent), culminating in total retail spend in May of $39.67 billion.
ARC chief economist Glenn Fahey said the figures showed resilience in the Australian retail sector. But, he noted that persistently high inflation means sales are more modest than the headline figures might suggest.
"While retail is still beating expectations overall, the impact of inflation must not be overlooked,” Fahey said. “Once inflation is taken into account, the pace of real sales growth is far more modest and reflects the difficult economic environment and continued pressure on household budgets."
Fahey added that while the stronger-than-expected sales figures are encouraging for some retailers, they would not necessarily translate into stronger profitability.
"Sales growth doesn't automatically mean profit growth,” he pointed out. “Retailers continue to face significant cost pressures across wages, freight, energy, leasing and broader supply chains, and those costs continue to erode already tight margins.
"While May was a robust month, we know retailers entered a much more subdued end-of-financial-year promotional period in June. Our forecasts continue to point to relatively weak EOFY sales growth, reflecting the fact that consumers remain highly value-conscious and continue to carefully manage household budgets."