Continuing the trend some newspaper publishers ignore, retail sales in Australia were up in August according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Overall, the retail sector in Australia demonstrated strong resilience and growth in August 2024. The combination of warmer weather and ongoing consumer confidence contributed to the positive performance.
This is good news for retailers. The even better news could be in the bus
While newsagents sell falls into a range of segments tracked by the ABS, there is this indication around books and newspapers in their August data:
Of the various segments newsagents cover, clothing is the strongest.
It’s valuable looking at the ABS data against your own data comparing a month to the same month a year earlier. I say a year earlier as at a store level tha type of comparison is more useful.
The strongest growth product categories that I see in newsagencies right now are:
- Homewares.
- Clothing.
- Books.
- Sensory.
- Toys.
- Collectibles.
Price point wise, I am seeing stronger growth for higher price point items compared to lower cost, like under $50.00.
Another data point in the ABS data that’s interesting is that Victoria is the equal strongest state / territory in terms of growth. Reading the Herald Sun you’d not think this is the case.
The ABS data is useful as to can help to inform consumer sentiment and that helps us.