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Australian retail turnover fell 0.1 per cent in the December period, but the clothing and footwear sector showed a boost.

Figures released today from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed the slight drop in Australian retail turnover, seasonally adjusted, following a rise of 0.1 per cent in November 2011.

The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) executive director, Russell Zimmerman, said the results, as well as 'dismal' year on year growth well below inflation at 2.6 per cent, confirmed predictions from the ARA of a soft Christmas, despite a welcome monthly boost for fashion retailers.

“Month on month growth across department stores (1.1 per cent) was well below expected levels for the festive season,” Zimmerman said. “The monthly boost in clothing and footwear (3.5 per cent) was welcomed from businesses who have been suffering all year, but is mainly due to retailers discounting heavily to get shoppers through the door both before and after Christmas. “Continuing the trend, fashion and department store categories were in decline from December 2010, perhaps due to the cooler weather experienced in some capital cities in the lead up to Christmas.”

The largest contributor to the fall was food retailing (-0.7 per cent), followed by cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (-1.8 per cent). These falls were offset by the rises in clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing, department stores and household goods retailing (0.2 percent).

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