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Retail Trade, Australia

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Monthly and quarterly estimates of turnover and volumes for retail businesses, including store and online sales.

Reference period
November 2021
Released
11/01/2022

Key statistics

The November 2021 seasonally adjusted estimate: 

  • Rose 7.3% month-on-month.
  • Rose 5.8% compared with November 2020.

As advertised, all information for the November 2021 reference period has been released in one issue on 11 January 2022. All timeseries spreadsheets have been published, including; state by industry results, state by industry sub-group results, quarterly turnover volumes, and online sales.

Subsequent issues will return to the dual release format.

To understand more about changes in this issue, suspension of trend estimates, and COVID-19 in November 2021, please read the survey impacts and changes.

Turnover at current prices
Nov-2021 ($m)Oct-2021 to Nov-2021 (% change)Nov-2020 to Nov-2021 (% change)
Trendnanana
Seasonally adjusted33,411.57.35.8

na not available

Total retail turnover

Analysis by industry

Food retailing

Food retailing fell 2.5% (-$329.5m) in November, in seasonally adjusted terms.

Household goods retailing

Household goods retailing rose 11.6% ($664.2m) in November, in seasonally adjusted terms.

Clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing

Clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing rose 38.2% ($847.9m) in November, in seasonally adjusted terms.

Department stores

Department stores rose 26.0% ($394.8m) in November, in seasonally adjusted terms.

Other retailing

Other retailing rose 7.3% ($355.6m) in November, in seasonally adjusted terms.

Cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services

Cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services rose 9.3% ($348.2m) in November, in seasonally adjusted terms.

Online retailing

Total online retailing sales were $3,734.2m in November 2021, in seasonally adjusted terms. The value of online sales fell 8.7% (-$356.8m) in November 2021, which follows a fall of 6.1% (-$264.5m) in October 2021. Total online sales are down 14.3% (-$621.3m) on the most recent peak in September 2021, which was the result of the prolonged lockdown in New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory, as households were restricted to shopping online. 

Despite consumers being able to shop more easily instore following lockdowns, online retailing turnover continues to remain elevated. Compared to November 2020, online retailing turnover is up 22.8% ($692.1m).

In November 2021, online Food sales were $975.9m, and online Non-Food sales were $2,758.3m, in seasonally adjusted terms. Online Non-Food sales drove the fall in November’s total online sales, falling 9.7% (-$295.5m). This was followed by Food sales which fell 5.9% (-$61.3m). 

In original terms, the proportion of online sales for Food retailing was 5.9% in November 2021, down from 6.4% in September 2021. The portion of Food sales made online continues to remain high and is higher than any month prior to the Delta Outbreak in June 2021. The proportion of online sales for Non-Food retailing was 18.7% in November 2021, down from 21.2% last month. Like Food, the portion of Non-Food sales made online remains elevated.

In original terms, the proportion of online sales to total retailing was 12.5% in November 2021, down from 13.2% last month.

Additional notes regarding the online sales series can be found in the Methodology.

Data downloads

All tables have been made available on 11 January 2022. The dual release format will resume next month with the December 2021 reference period release, with Tables 1 to 4 released prior to Tables 5 to 23.

Time series spreadsheets

Data files

Data Explorer datasets

The data available in Data Explorer is similar to ABS.Stat but with a new interface and added functionality.
For more information about Data Explorer and to see what's changed, see the Data Explorer user guide.

Caution: Data in Data Explorer is currently released after the 11:30am release on the ABS website. Please check the reference period when using Data Explorer.

Retail Trade, Key Statistics - Monthly retail trade estimates for Australian businesses classified by industry group, or by state and territory.

Retail Trade  - Monthly and quarterly retail trade turnover estimates for Australian businesses classified by industry group, sub group, and by state and territory.

Survey impacts and changes

The revised release schedule for Retail Trade, Australia

Changes in this issue

Suspension of trend series

Coronavirus (COVID-19) in November

Differences between Retail Trade and Monthly Business Turnover Indicator

Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 8501.0.

Inquiries

For inquiries about these and related statistics, contact the Customer Assistance Service via the ABS website Contact Us page. The ABS Privacy Policy outlines how the ABS will handle any personal information that you provide to us.

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