Tuesday 18th November 2008

Retailers face a bleak Christmas

Australia’s retailers could well be facing a bleak Christmas.

New figures, that the Australian Bureau of Statistics has just released, tell the story.

They show that, in volume terms, retail sales rose by just 0.1 per cent, in the September quarter.

The timing here is important.

Remember that the full force of the global economic crisis did not become apparent until mid-September.

So the economy was already slowing, before it arrived.

Australia’s most heavily populated State, New South Wales, is also showing clear signs of being the weakest.

In trend terms, retail sales in that State fell by 0.8 per cent in the quarter.

The fat cats, in the ACT, aren’t spending, either.

Retail sales in Canberra also fell, by 0.3 per cent, on the same measure during the quarter.

Sales rose in all other parts of Australia.

The biggest rise, of 2.5 per cent, was chalked up in the Northern Territory.

But the weeks ahead are not looking good.

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1 Comment

» The latest November 18, 2008 at 6:46 am

[...] Retailers face a bleak Christmas [...]

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