Turnover across the retail trade industry fell 0.6 per cent between July and August this year, adding to a total business turnover slip of 2.2 per cent in the same timeframe.
This is according to new seasonally adjusted data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Retail joined eight other industries that recorded falls between July and August, with electricity, gas, water and waste services topping the list with a 14.1 per cent drop. Manufacturing was down 5.8 per cent, with information media and telecommunications down 3.7 per cent month-on-month and mining down 1.9 per cent.
ABS head of business statistics Tom Lay said the overall monthly fall in business turnover was the largest since April 2023. He also noted that the fall in electricity, gas, water and waste came amid falls in wholesale electricity and gas, following strong rises in the previous month.
In the retail space, other store-based retailing – excluding food, motor vehicles and vehicle parts – dropped 0.2 per cent month-on-month. Vehicle and non-store-based retailing led the monthly slip, down 3.4 per cent and 3.7 per cent respectively.
Between August 2024 and August 2025, business turnover grew in 11 of the 13 industries, including a 4.3 per cent lift in the retail division.
Overall business turnover was 4.5 per cent higher than in August 2024, with construction (7.3 per cent), arts and recreation services (7.3 per cent), and transport, postal and warehousing services (7.2 per cent) recording the largest lifts.
The two industries with annual falls were electricity, gas, water and waste services (down 1.0 per cent) and mining (down 0.7 per cent).
Retail’s modest lift was similar to the wholesale trade division, which also lifted by 4.3 per cent. Other services, which would include the likes of hairdressers and nail salons, lifted just 3.2 per cent.
In trend terms, the 13-industry aggregate for business turnover rose 0.3 per cent in August, the twelfth consecutive month of growth.