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Retail Trade, Australia

Monthly and quarterly estimates of turnover and volumes for retail businesses, including store and online sales.

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Reference period
February 2022
Released
29/03/2022
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Key statistics

The February 2022 seasonally adjusted estimate: 

  • Rose 1.8% month-on-month.
  • Rose 9.1% compared with February 2021.

An additional information release on 4 April 2022 has seen the inclusion of more detailed results for the February 2022 reference period. Additional timeseries spreadsheets have be published, including; state by industry results, state by industry sub-group results, December quarter 2021 turnover volumes, and online sales.

To understand more about changes in this issue, suspension of trend estimates, and COVID-19 in February 2022, please read the survey impacts and changes.

Turnover at current prices
Feb-2022 ($m)Jan-2022 to Feb-2022 (% change)Feb-2021 to Feb-2022 (% change)
Trendnanana
Seasonally adjusted33,085.41.89.1

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Total retail turnover

Analysis by industry

Food retailing

Food retailing fell 2.6% (-$340.2m) in February, in seasonally adjusted terms.

Household goods retailing

Household goods retailing rose 2.3% ($136.8m) in February, in seasonally adjusted terms.

Clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing

Clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing rose 11.2% ($282.6m) in February, in seasonally adjusted terms.

Department stores

Department stores rose 11.1% ($175.9m) in February, in seasonally adjusted terms.

Other retailing

Other retailing fell 1.1% (-$57.2m) in February, in seasonally adjusted terms.

Cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services

Cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services rose 9.7% ($395.6m) in February, in seasonally adjusted terms.

Online Retailing

Total online retailing sales were $3,649.9m in February 2022, in seasonally adjusted terms. Seasonally adjusted online sales fell 3.8% (-$142.3m), partially unwinding the rise in January when online sales rose for the first time since state lockdowns ended in October 2021. The fall continues the pattern seen prior to last month’s rise where online sales have fallen as restrictions continue to ease and consumers return to physical stores. Despite the recent fall, total online retailing turnover remains at an elevated level, up 22.8% ($677.9m) compared to February 2021, in seasonally adjusted terms.

In February 2022, Food online sales were $1,012m, and Non-Food online sales were $2,638m, in seasonally adjusted terms. Non-Food sales predominately drove the fall in February’s total online sales, down 4.5% (-$123.6m) with consumers more confident to shop in store as restrictions continue to ease further as the Omicron wave bottomed out. Food sales had a smaller fall of 1.8% (-$18.6m).

In original terms, the proportion of online sales for Food retailing was 5.7% in February 2022, slightly down from 5.8% in January 2022. The portion of Food sales made online continues to remain higher than the months prior to the Delta Outbreak in June 2021. The proportion of online sales for Non-Food retailing was 16.1% in February 2022, down from 17.5% in the month prior. Like Food, the portion of Non-Food sales made online remains elevated.

In original terms, the proportion of online sales to total retailing was 10.4% in February 2022, down from 11.1% last month.

Additional notes regarding the online sales series can be found in Methodology.

Data downloads

Tables 5 through to 23 have been made available on 4 April 2022.  Tables 1 through to 4 remain unchanged from their release on 29 March 2022. 

Download all (4.44 MB)

Time series spreadsheets

Data files

Data Explorer datasets

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Retail Trade, Key Statistics - Monthly retail trade estimates for Australian businesses classified by industry group, or by state and territory.

Retail Trade  - Monthly and quarterly retail trade turnover estimates for Australian businesses classified by industry group, sub group, and by state and territory.

Survey impacts and changes

The revised release schedule for Retail Trade, Australia

The ABS ceased the publication of Retail Trade, Australia, Preliminary (8501.0.55.008) following the June 2021 reference period.  Retail Trade, Australia (8501.0) has moved to the following release schedule to better accommodate data users’ needs.

Key statistics from Retail Trade, Australia are now released 20 working days following the end of the reference period. The full suite of statistics to be made available in an “Additional Information” release four business days later. 

This replaces the former release schedule where all time series spreadsheets were released approximately 24 working days following the end of the reference period.

Timing and availability of time series spreadsheets from July 2021 reference period onwards:

 
ReleaseTimingTablesContent
Main Release (i.e. key statistics)20 working days following the end of the reference period1 - 4 Monthly National Turnover
   Monthly Industry Turnover
   Monthly State Turnover
Additional Tables4 working days following the main release5 - 23Monthly State by Industry Turnover
   Monthly Sub-Group Turnover
   Monthly State by Sub-Group Turnover
   Quarterly Volumes and other quarterly statistics
   Online Sales

 

There are no changes to the availability of data for this publication.  Time series spreadsheet numbering and names, as well as Series IDs remain the same as previously published.

Both of the monthly releases will be based on the same source data. No additional data collection activity will occur between these times.

The ABS will continue to quality assure data between both releases. Revisions to the key statistics anticipated to be rare.

Dates for future releases are available under ‘Future releases’ from the top of this page. There are two advertised dates for each reference period. The earliest date refers to the release of Tables 1 through to 4. The later date indicates when the additional tables (5 through to 23) will be made available.

Changes in this issue

The original estimates for Food retailing have been revised back to October 2021 as a result of an amendment to source data following updated information from survey respondents. 

An Extraordinary Annual Seasonal Review (EASR) of monthly time series was completed prior to the release of February data with changes to monthly time series reflected in Tables 1-4.  EASR of the quarterly time series will be completed in time for the release of new quarterly time series in the March 2022 Additional information publication to be released on May 10 2022. As a result, the revisions to monthly original estimates stated above are not reflected in Tables 5-10 of this release as updated quarterly estimates are to be released on May 10 2022 as originally scheduled. Further information on the EASR is available below.
 

Extraordinary Annual Seasonal Review (EASR)

In early 2020 the ABS advised that the method used to produce seasonally adjusted estimates would be changed from the ‘concurrent adjustment’ method to the ‘forward factors’ method for series with significant and prolonged impacts from COVID-19. Given the ongoing disruption during the COVID-19 period and continuing use of forward factors, extraordinary annual reviews of seasonally adjusted series are progressively being undertaken across the ABS statistics programs.

The extraordinary annual review process individually assesses how the the most recent data of each series should be treated and determines the most appropriate approach (concurrent adjustment or forward factors) for estimating seasonal adjustment factors during the COVID-19 period. It should be noted that series moved to forward factors are likely to have larger revisions when the forward factors are annually updated or when the series returns to concurrent seasonal adjustment. 

The review has provided evidence that Retail Trade should continue to use the forward factors method for all series as economic conditions are yet to return to pre COVID-19 conditions or stabilised to a new seasonal pattern. New forward factors have been calculated and will be used from the February 2022 publications.

Further information can be found here: https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/methods-changes-during-covid-19-period

Suspension of trend series

The trend series attempts to measure underlying behaviour in retail activity. During the Coronavirus pandemic, this measurement will be significantly affected by changes to regular patterns in retail spending that will occur. If the trend estimates in this publication were to be calculated without fully accounting for irregular events, they would likely provide a misleading view of underlying retail activity.

The retail trend series was therefore suspended from February 2020. It is now published only to June 2019. The trend series will be reinstated when more certainty emerges in the underlying trend in retail.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) in February

The World Health Organisation identified COVID-19 as an international health emergency on 30 January 2020.

In March 2020, nationwide regulations were introduced to encourage physical distancing which impacted the ability of businesses to trade as normal. Movement across state borders were also restricted.

Following May 2020, regulations have been implemented on a local basis in response to increased case numbers.

In March 2021, the Greater Brisbane region in Queensland saw restrictions reintroduced on 29 March. The restrictions were extended until the end of the month and ended on 1 April.

In April 2021, Perth and some regional areas of Western Australia had restrictions in place from 24 April through to 26 April.

In May 2021, Victoria was under lockdown restrictions from 28 May. These remained in place until June.

In June 2021, the Delta variant began to emerge which saw various states and territories introduce lockdown measures which were initially intended to be a temporary measure to contain the outbreak.

In July 2021, the Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, the Central Coast and Wollongong regions in New South Wales remained under stay-at-home orders for the entire month, while Victoria re-introduced lockdowns mid-month which were in place until 27 July. Other states and territories were able to avoid extended lockdowns with Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory only experiencing snap lockdowns with varying duration and timing which ended within the month.

In August 2021, the Greater Sydney, Blue Mountains, Central Coast and Wollongong regions in New South Wales remained under stay-at-home orders with various regional cities and townships placed into lockdowns. Victoria reintroduced lockdown measures in Melbourne on 5 August which remained in effect for the remainder of the month, with Regional Victoria also in lockdown at different stages. The Australian Capital Territory introduced lockdown measures on 12 August which extended to the of the month. Queensland and the Northern Territory both experienced snap lockdowns which ended within the month.

In September 2021, the Greater Sydney, Blue Mountains, Central Coast and Wollongong regions in New South Wales remained under stay-at-home orders for the entire month with several regional areas in and out of lockdowns as the month progressed. Victoria’s Melbourne metropolitan region remained under stay-at-home orders for the entire month with regional areas in and out of lockdowns as the month progressed. The Australian Capital Territory stay-at-home orders were in place for the entire month.

In October 2021, lockdown measures began to ease with stay-at-home orders ending in New South Wales on 11 October, the Australian Capital Territory on 14 October and Victoria on 21 October. Each state and territory had various restrictions attached to the end of stay-at-home orders which included a range of mask mandates, density limits and conditions based on vaccination status. Tasmania experienced a snap 3-day lockdown in the southern part of the state, including Hobart.

In November 2021 and December 2021 each state and territory experienced a wide range of restriction measures wither introduced or eased depending on the circumstances of each state or territory. The Northern Territory was the only state or territory to introduce lockdown measures

For a detailed breakdown of restrictions throughout 2021, please refer to Coronavirus (COVID-19) in December in Survey impacts and changes section of the December 2021 release.

For a detailed breakdown of restrictions in January 2022, please refer to Coronavirus (COVID-19) in January in Survey impacts and changes section of the January 2022 release.

In February 2022, changes to existing COVID-19 safety measures across the states and territories included:

  • New South Wales - from February 18 restrictions were eased with no density limits on hospitality venues, QR check-ins only required for nightclubs and all music festivals with more than 1000 people. Singing and dancing now allowed, except for singing and dancing and music festivals (from Feb 25). Hotel quarantine for international travellers has been reduced to seven days. From Feb 25 mask mandates only apply for public transport, planes, airports, hospitals, prisons, and disability and care facilities.

  • Victoria - from 6pm February 18, density limits in hospitality venues were removed with indoor dancefloors reopen. QR codes scrapped in retail and schools but remain in hospitality venues. Hotel quarantine for international travellers has been reduced to seven days.

  • South Australia - on February 12, Level 1 restrictions eased further to allow home gatherings of 50 and fitness classes to operate at 1 person per 4sqm. Hospitality venues also allowed to increase capacity to 75 per cent outdoors and allow people to stand. From Monday February 14, workplace density limits eased to allow 50 per cent occupancy. From 12:01am February 26, hospitality venues able to operate with 1 person per 2sqm density indoors with seated only consumption at 3 persons per 4sqm. Outdoor density limits remain at 3 persons per 4sqm.

  • Western Australia - from 6am Monday, 21 February, Level 1 public health and social measures were introduced in Perth, Peel, South West, Wheatbelt, Great Southern and Pilbara regions with mask mandates for public indoor settings state-wide. The measures include gathering and capacity limits of 30 people (including household members) indoors at a private residence; outdoor gatherings at a private residence of 200 people provided there is at least 2sqm of space per person; private outdoor gatherings limited to a total of 200 patrons; 2sqm rule for hospitality venues, fitness venues, entertainment venues, museums and galleries, places of worship, hairdressers and beauty services, Perth Crown Complex and seated service only on casino gaming floor, nightclubs (up to 500 maximum capacity), 75 per cent capacity for seated entertainment venues that face forward, like theatres and cinemas, 75 per cent capacity for major stadiums, such as Optus Stadium, RAC Arena, HBF Stadium (main area) and HBF Park.

  • Tasmania - from 6pm February 16, covid check-ins no longer required at cafes, shops, schools, hospitals and aged care facilities.

  • Northern Territory - lock-in for Ampilatwatja, Milikapiti, Galiwin’ku, Milingimbi Island and Palumpa lifted at 2pm February 6. Lock-in at Lajamanu lifted at 5pm February 7.

  • Australian Capital Territory - from 6pm February 18, all density limits were removed with diners able to stand while eating and drinking, with dancing allowed again. From 6pm February 25, masks are longer be required to be worn indoors except for public transport and high risk-settings such as hospitals, aged care etc.

Differences between Retail Trade and New Experimental Economic Indicators

Monthly Business Turnover Indicator

The ABS first released the Monthly Business Turnover Indicator on Friday 15 October 2021. The first in a series of new monthly economic indicators which includes an indicator for Retail Trade.

This experimental indicator is derived from Australian Taxation Office (ATO) Business Activity Statements (BAS) turnover data from monthly BAS remitters. This differs from Retail Trade, Australia in terms of scope and coverage. Monthly BAS reporting for the Monthly Business Turnover Indicator covers businesses with GST annual turnover of $20 million or more and a proportion of smaller businesses that report monthly on a voluntary basis. The turnover estimates in Retail Trade, Australia are compiled from the monthly Retail Business Survey. About 700 'large' businesses are included in the survey every month, while a sample of about 2,700 'smaller' businesses is selected. The 'large' business' contribution of approximately 69% of the total estimate ensures a highly reliable Australian total turnover estimate.

Retail Trade for the Monthly Business Turnover Indicator is aligned strictly to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), 2006. This includes Fuel and motor vehicle retailing but excludes Cafes, restaurants and takeaways. Retail Trade, Australia does include Cafes, restaurants and takeaways, but does not include Fuel and motor vehicle retailing.

For further information see Monthly Business Turnover Indicator, Methodology.

Monthly Household Spending Indicator

The ABS first released the Monthly Household Spending Indicator on Tuesday 22 February 2022.

The experimental Monthly Household Spending Indicator is derived using aggregated, de-identified banks transactions data from some of Australia’s banking and financial institutions.

The ABS transforms the banks transactions data in order to derive the Monthly Household Spending Indicator. As this data is not designed for statistical purposes, its scope varies from Australian National Accounts concept of household final consumption expenditure (HFCE) and the Retail Trade turnover estimates for retail businesses.

The primary difference between the Retail Trade Survey and the household spending indicator is scope. The Retail Trade Survey focusses on measuring turnover, from sole traders and businesses across the Retail industry that predominantly sell to households. The Household spending indicator is recorded at the point of transaction on goods and services across all relevant industries, not just retail, to track a broader range of consumer spending.

For more information on how the Retail Trade Survey and new experimental monthly household spending indicator differ please see Comparison with Retail Trade and Monthly Household Spending Indicator, Methodology.

Post release changes

04/04/2022 - As advertised in the main release of this publication on 29 March 2022, the time series spreadsheets for tables 5 through to 23 are now available under the Data Downloads section. This includes:

  • February monthly results for State by Industry Subgroup, Completely Enumerated (large) and Sample (small) businesses, and Online Retail Turnover. 
  • December quarter 2021 results, available in tables 5 through to 10. These results have been published previously.

In addition, an online retailing section has been added to this publication, which shows the most up-to-date online retail sales.

Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 8501.0.

Inquiries

For inquiries about these and related statistics, contact the Customer Assistance Service via the ABS website Contact Us page. The ABS Privacy Policy outlines how the ABS will handle any personal information that you provide to us.

Methodology

Retail Trade, Australia methodology, February 2022

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