MEDIA RELEASE
3 April 2014	Embargoed: 11.30 am (Canberra time)	43/2014

The latest ABS Retail Trade figures show that Australian retail turnover rose 0.2 per cent in February 2014, seasonally adjusted, following a rise of 1.2 per cent in January 2014.

The largest contributor to the rise was household goods retailing (2.0 per cent), followed by other retailing (1.9 per cent), cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (0.1 per cent) and clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (0.1 per cent). These rises were partially offset by falls in department stores (-4.7 per cent) and food retailing (-0.2 per cent).

The state which was the largest contributor to the rise was Victoria (0.5 per cent), followed by Western Australia (0.4 per cent), New South Wales (0.1 per cent) and Queensland (0.1 per cent). These rises were partially offset by falls in Tasmania (-1.4 per cent), the Northern Territory (-0.6 per cent) and the Australian Capital Territory (-0.1 per cent). South Australia was relatively unchanged (0.0 per cent).

The trend estimate for Australian retail turnover rose 0.7 per cent in February 2014. This follows a rise of 0.7 per cent in January 2014 and a rise of 0.7 per cent in December 2013.

More detailed industry analysis and further information on the statistical methodology is available in Retail Trade, Australia (cat no. 8501.0).

Media note:

• Please ensure when reporting on ABS data that you attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or the ABS) as the source.
• For a detailed definition of each industry group and subgroup in terms of its ANZSIC 2006 classes, please refer to paragraph 6 of the Explanatory Notes.