Supported by Black Friday.
Retail turnover rose 0.9% in November 2019, seasonally adjusted, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures. This follows an increase of 0.1% in October 2019. Online retail contributed 7.1% to total turnover in November 2019, compared to 6.6% in the previous corresponding period.
Department stores experienced the largest rise (3.4%), followed by clothing and footwear (3.1%), household goods retailing (1.2%), restaurants and takeaway food services (0.9%) and food retailing (0.5%).
South Australia reported the strongest sales increase (1.4%), closely followed by Queensland (1.2%) and Victoria (1.1%). New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory rose by 0.7%, Western Australia by 0.5% and Tasmania by 0.4%. Sales in the Northern Territory fell 0.2%.
ABS director of quarterly economy wide surveys, Ben James said there was strong growth in Black Friday sales in electrical goods, clothing and furniture, with online performing well.
“While seasonal adjustment removes regular seasonal patterns associated with Black Friday based on prior results, the strong seasonally adjusted rises in a number of sub-groups this month shows that the impact of this Black Friday exceeded that of previous years.”