Retail Sales in Australia
The Australian economy recorded an average growth rate of 5.5% in retail sales over the decade to 2024, below Australia & New Zealand's average of 5.5%. In 2024, Australia's retail sales growth was 2.8%.
Australia Retail Chart
Note: This chart displays Retail Sales (ann. var. %) for Australia from 2024 to 2019.
Source: Macrobond.
Australia Retail Data
2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Retail Sales (ann. var. %) | 6.7 | 5.3 | 11.3 | 3.1 | 2.8 |
Retail sales unexpectedly contract in April
Latest reading: Retail sales fell 0.1% month on month in seasonally adjusted terms in April (March: +0.3% mom s.a.), defying market expectations for an expansion. Looking at the details of the release, food retailing sales swung into contraction, and department store sales declined at a sharper pace, outweighing recoveries in sales for household goods plus cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services. On an annual basis, retail sales picked up pace, rising 4.0% in April compared to March’s 3.2% increase. As a result, annual average retail sales growth rose to 3.0% in April (March: +2.8%), signaling an improving trend in the retail trade sector.
How should you choose a forecaster if some are too optimistic while others are too pessimistic? FocusEconomics collects Australian retail projections for the next ten years from a panel of 1 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. By averaging all forecasts, upside and downside forecasting errors tend to cancel each other out, leading to the most reliable retail forecast available for Australian retail.
Download one of our sample reports to visualize what a Consensus Forecast is and see our Australian retail projections.
Want to get access to the full dataset of Australian retail forecasts? Send an email to info@focus-economics.com.
Latest Global Retail News
-
Australia: Retail sales return to growth in May Latest reading: Retail sales increased 0.2% month on month in seasonally adjusted terms in May after stagnating in April, though... -
Spain: Retail sales growth ebbs in May Latest reading: Retail sales increased 0.2% in month-on-month seasonally adjusted terms in May, which was a deterioration from April’s 0.8%... -
Luxembourg: Retail sales deteriorates in May Latest reading: Retail sales dropped 0.1% month-on-month in seasonally adjusted terms in May (April: +0.9% mom s.a.). On an annual... -
Poland: Retail sales growth deteriorates in May Latest reading: Retail sales increased 4.4% year on year in May (April: +7.6% yoy). Looking at the details of the... -
United Kingdom: Retail sales fall at sharpest pace since December 2023 in May Latest reading: Retail sales fell 2.7% month-on-month in seasonally adjusted terms in May (April: +1.3% mom). The outturn marked the... -
United States: Retail sales contract at sharpest pace since March 2023 in May Latest reading: Retail sales dropped 0.9% month-on-month in seasonally adjusted terms in May (April: -0.1% mom), a larger fall than... -
Indonesia: Retail sales rebound in May Latest reading: Retail sales rose 2.6% year on year in May (April: -0.3% yoy). The rebound was partly driven by...