Retail sales across Australia grew by just 1.3 per cent in 2010/11 - the worst result for 20 years, according to Deloitte.
A report from the global company, which provides audit, consulting, financial advisory, risk management, and tax services, said over the past year consumers have been less willing to spend on retail and setbacks from last summer’s floods and cyclone have not helped.
A spokesman from Deloitte said retailers now face the prospect of going from bad to worse as weak performance is seen across most categories of retail at present.
With only ‘other retailing’, including newsagents and chemists, showing a good trading performance over the past year, followed by household goods, things do not look good for the apparel sector.
A spokesman from Deloitte said: “Elsewhere the retail landscape has been barren with food sales in real terms at the same point as a year ago, while clothing and footwear, department stores, cafes and restaurants have all lost ground.
“The period of 2010/11 proved to be a disastrous year for retail.
“The implications from the financial market volatility and further deterioration of consumer confidence in August are yet to be seen in the retail sales data.
“When they do appear its unlikely to be pretty, while the next few months look like being subdued ones for retail at best.”
However, the company goes on to say that the pockets of the Australian economy are still going 'very strong', and it is hoped this will support a reasonable rate of GDP growth in 2011/12 - providing a better support for retail spending.
Only three Australian states passed the low benchmark of having real retail sales in the June quarter of 2011, higher than it was a year earlier.
A spokesman added: “Predictably they were led by Western Australia where there is spillover from a very healthy mining sector.
“A booming mining sector is also propelling Queensland forward, as it otherwise slowly recovers from last summer’s disasters.
“The other state to show retail growth is perennial over-achiever Victoria, assisted by solid population gains.
“All other states and territories have gone backwards in the last year, thanks to both a lack of job growth and consumer confidence.
“Australia’s high versus low-growth divide is likely to remain in place for at least the short term, though non-mining states will be breathing a sigh of relief that interest rate rises are off the agenda, at least for a while.”