Australian retail turnover rose by 0.6% to $26.08 billion in May 2017 according to the latest figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
This marks two consecutive months of growth in turnover after a rise of 1% in April, which was the biggest jump since late 2013. Market expectations had put growth at 0.2% for May.
Seasonally adjusted figures indicate sales of electrical and electronic goods rose by 2.8% during the month, driving an overall 2.2% rise in the household goods retailing category.
Most other industries also experienced increased turnover, including clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (up 1.3%), cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (up 0.6%), food retailing (up 0.1%), and other retailing (0.6 per cent). Meanwhile department store turnover fell by 0.7%.
The ABS said online retail turnover had contributed 3.9% to total retail turnover in May.
