Retail sales rose 7.1% in November

Australian retail turnover rose 7.1 per cent in November 2020, seasonally adjusted, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Retail Trade figures.  

This updates the preliminary result of 7.0 per cent, and follows a rise of 1.4 per cent in October 2020. 

Ben James, Director of Quarterly Economy Wide Surveys, said: "The rise is led by Victoria (22.4 per cent) as Melbourne retail stores were able to trade for a full month in November. Excluding Victoria, turnover rose 2.6 per cent.”

Other states and territories to record an increase in turnover were Queensland (4.5 per cent), New South Wales (2.3 per cent), Western Australia (1.2 per cent), Tasmania (3.4 per cent), the Australian Capital Territory (2.5 per cent), and the Northern Territory (2.2 per cent). The brief lockdown in South Australia (-0.2 per cent) led to a relatively flat result, as falls in most industries were offset by a rise in food sales.

At the industry level, rises were recorded in household goods retailing (12.7 per cent), clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (26.7 per cent), other retailing (7.9 per cent), department stores (21.1 per cent), and cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (6.7 per cent) in November 2020. The release of new games consoles and new iPhones added to sales in household goods and other retailing, while Black Friday sales also contributed to the increase across a number of industries.

Total retail turnover rose 13.3 per cent compared to November 2019. 

Online sales made up 11.0 per cent of total retail turnover in November 2020, compared to 10.4 per cent in October 2020. In November 2019, online retail turnover contributed 7.2 per cent to total retail. 

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

The next release will be the Preliminary result for the December month. Data will be released on Friday 22 January 2021.