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Consumers brought forward their holiday spending to take advantage of November discounts, ABS says.
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December retail turnover falls 2.7% in wake of Black Friday sales
30 January 2024
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Retail sales fell 2.7 per cent in December after consumers brought forward holiday spending in response to November sales, the latest ABS data reveals.
It said the seasonally adjusted decline followed a rise of 1.6 per cent in November and a fall of 0.2 per cent in October.
ABS head of retail statistics Ben Dorber said a clear spending pattern had emerged from its revised data.
“The large fall in retail turnover in December was caused by a fall in discretionary spending,” he said. “Consumers brought forward some of their usual December spending to November to take advantage of Black Friday sales.
“This shift in spending from December to November reflects the growing popularity of Black Friday sales and the impact of cost-of-living pressures, with consumers seeking out bargains and taking advantage of discounts in November.
“While there was a large seasonally adjusted fall in December, retail turnover rose 0.1 per cent in trend terms. This shows that underlying retail spending remains subdued when we look through the volatile movements over recent months in the lead up to Christmas.”
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The December decline hit all non-food sectors that had been boosted by Black Friday sales, with the biggest drops hitting clothing footwear and personal accessories (-5.7 per cent), department stores (-8.1 per cent) and household goods (-8.5 per cent).
Turnover also fell in December for cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (-1.1 per cent) although food retailing, with a 0.1 per cent increase, was the only industry to rise.
The retail decline was felt across the country with large falls in all states and territories, the ABS said.
“Retailers told us that trading conditions were slow in early December following the success of Black Friday before picking up again in the lead up to Christmas and Boxing Day sales where discounting activity returned,” Mr Dorber said.
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