Australian retail sales surge in October as economy reopens
Pent-up demand and strong household savings has seen retail spending bounce back twice as fast, as Australians freed from lockdown spend big in October.
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Retail spending rebounded twice as quickly as expected in October, led by double-digit sales growth in NSW and the ACT and a strong lift in Victoria as Delta lockdowns were eased through the month.
Turnover nationally jumped by 4.9 per cent in October to $31.1bn, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and just below the May levels which immediately preceded the Delta disruptions starting from late June.
After payroll figures yesterday showed an almost complete recovery in employee jobs by the start of this month, EY chief economist Joanne Masters said the figures were the latest sign that the economy was “roaring back”.
“Pent up demand, combined with dollars in the bank and the wealth effect of higher house prices, suggests this spending boom will continue through the festive period,” Ms Masters said.
Sales in NSW bounced by 13 per cent to $9.9bn, the seasonally adjusted figures showed, as shoppers responded to the end of stay-at-home orders from October 11.
Victorian turnover climbed by 3 per cent to $7.5bn as lockdowns ended October 21, and surged by 20 per cent in the ACT to $516m as the territory exited lockdowns from the middle of the month.
Millions of shoppers in the east coast states enjoyed the return of their freedoms by flocking to clothing and footwear stores, where sales jumped by nearly 30 per cent in the month, and to cafes and restaurants, where spending climbed 12 per cent. Department store turnover surged 22 per cent.
All of the three discretionary retail categories, however, remained well down on pre-Delta levels, the ABS figures showed.
Household goods spending climbed another 5 per cent, while the broad “other retailing” category lifted 2.2 per cent.
Following the usual stop-start patterns displayed through previous lockdowns, food retailing declines, by 0.5 per cent, as households ventured out of their homes.
Originally published as Australian retail sales surge in October as economy reopens
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