Australian retail turnover rose by 0.3% in June, according to the latest figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
This marks three consecutive months of growth in spending after a rise of 1% in April, which was the biggest jump since late 2013.
It’s also an increase over market expectations, which had put growth at 0.2% for the month.
“In seasonally adjusted terms in June 2017, we saw rises in Household goods retailing (0.9 per cent), Cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (0.5 per cent), Clothing footwear and personal accessory retailing (0.8 per cent) and Other retailing (0.2 per cent),” said Ben James, Director of Quarterly Economy Wide Surveys.
“There was a fall in Department stores (-0.3 per cent), while Food retailing (0.0 per cent) was relatively unchanged.”
The ABS also noted that online retail turnover continued to grow in importance, contributing 4.1% to total retail turnover in June.
Compared to June 2016, the trend estimate rose 3.6%.
