There was great optimism that November would see somewhat of a recovery in the Australian retail market with most analysts predicting a rise of 0.3 percent for the month. However, much to the surprise of most people, retail sales actually fell 0.1 percent for the month leading up to the December holiday period. This was despite the fact that there was a rate cut leading up to November.
The sectors that had the biggest impact on retail figures was household goods retailing which had a big 0.9 percent drop. Then there was clothing and footwear which saw a 0.6 percent drop.
Some areas which had a rise were categorised under a non-specific area called other retailing which saw a one percent rise.
One area which did see a phenomenal rise was online sales. This area has continually chipped away at the bricks and mortar sales and is starting to take significant market share. Stores like ShowPo have reporting robust sales in the month and expect bigger figures for December. ShowPo have attracted customers through brilliant offers including offering a ShowPo discount code.