We’re better dressed – but our trade is slipping

Australians are now better dressed – and shod – than they were in the months following the stock market crash.

New figures, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, tell the story.

They show that retail sales surged in November, rising by 1.4 per cent, on seasonally adjusted figures,  during the month, with sales in clothing and shoe stores leading the way.

This follows a pattern, established earlier, with Australians starting to spend again, in the nation’s coffee shops, as the economic  recovery started.

Regular readers will remember that as the latte led recovery.

That has now broadened.

Consumer confidence also bounced back, with the Roy Morgan organisation reporting that it a  7.4 per cent jump, in the week to January 2.

On seasonally adjusted figures, the Bureau said, spending on clothing, footwear and personal accessories rose by 2.5 per cent in November.

Our homes are looking brighter, too, with spending on  household goods rising by 1.7 per cent during the month.

But coffee – and a meal out – still haven’t lost their attraction.

The bureau said this kind of  spending in coffee shops, restaurants and take-away food bars, rosey another 1.1 per cent in November.

But the big stores are capturing much of the
new business.

The bureau also says that, on current price, original figures, Australia’s chain stores and other large retailers saw a 4.4 per cent rise in their sales during November.

But smaller retailers saw their sales, overall, fall by 0.2 per cent, in the same time.

Other figures, that the Bureau also released yesterday, confirm that Australia has not yet escaped the grip of the global economic crisis.

They show that Australia’s exports fell by 2 per cent during November.

However, the nation still recorded a smaller trade deficit, as imports also fell, by 3 per cent.

The Federal Trade Minister Simon Crean said, though, that he had been encouraged by an 8 per cent rise in Australia’s exports to the European Community.