MEDIA RELEASE
May 6, 2010	Embargo: 11.30 am (AEST)	49/2010

ABS retail sales up 0.3% in March 2010

The latest ABS retail trade figures show that sales in March rose 0.3%, seasonally adjusted, compared with a fall of 1.2% the previous month.

Sales rose, in seasonally adjusted terms, across five retail industry groups: Clothing, Footwear & Other Personal Accessory Retailing (1.4%), Department Stores (1.1%), Other Retailing (0.9%), Cafes, Restaurants & Takeaway Food Services (0.7%) and Food Retailing (0.3%). Sales fell in Household Goods Retailing (-1.0%).

The Australian Capital Territory (1.3%) recorded the largest rise in sales in March, followed by New South Wales (1.2%), the Northern Territory (0.9%), South Australia (0.5%) and Western Australia (0.4%). Sales fell in Tasmania (-1.0%), Queensland (-0.5%) and Victoria (-0.1%).

Trend turnover for March 2010 remained unchanged for the second consecutive month.

In seasonally adjusted volume terms, retail turnover rose 0.1% in the March quarter 2010. This compares with a rise of 1.0% in the December quarter 2009.

In trend volume terms, retail turnover rose 0.6% for the March quarter 2010. This is the 6th consecutive quarter of positive trend volume growth.

Further information is available in Retail Trade, Australia (cat no. 8501.0)

Media Note: When reporting ABS data you must attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or ABS) as the source