A sombre trading update issued this morning by JB Hi-Fi shows that sales have slowed in the new year across both The Good Guys and the flagship JB stores.

The group’s comparable sales for JB Hi-Fi in Australia were down 0.1 per cent for the March quarter, with total sales creeping up by 0.8 per cent.

For both total and comparable sales for the quarter, The Good Guys suffered a 3.8 per cent drop for the quarter.

Financial year-to-date sales growth for both franchises is up — 5.8 per cent for JB Hi-Fi and 3.8 per cent in the case of the Good Guys — but the larger pullback in spending hasn’t come as a shock to the retail giant.

“As anticipated, sales growth has started to moderate from the elevated levels seen in the first half of fiscal 2023, but the group’s trusted value-based offerings have continued to resonate with our customers and grown market share,” JB Hi-Fi said in the sales update.

The company issued the update to the ASX before today’s presentation at the Macquarie Australia conference in Sydney.