The ABS yesterday released preliminary results for retail sales in Australia for November.
The seasonally adjusted estimate rose 7.0% ($2,071.6m) from October 2020 to November 2020.
In seasonally adjusted terms, Australian turnover rose 13.2% in November 2020 compared with November 2019.
As I have noted in this place already, plenty of newsagency businesses for which I am fortunate to have seen data delivered even better results, 20% and more growth in November 2020 compared to November 2019.
I’ve talked to other retailers too, jewellers, toy shops, bike shops, garden centres and more, almost all were up in November. Those doing best are those playing beyond what has been traditional for their channels.
That said, I am not in the retail is back camp. No, my view is that retail has fundamentally changed. It will not go back to where it was. The future is the future and not a re-visit to the past.
What we sell, how we sell, when we sell and to whom we sell has changed and will change further. Covid has sped-up changes that were occurring already.
This is all good stuff for retailers who embrace change.
The ABS preliminary figures are good for the whole economy as the growth they report encourage optimism for 2021.