The total value of retail sales in Australia rose by 0.5% in October, on a seasonally adjusted basis, compared to the previous month, according to the data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
By category, food retailing was up 0.4%, followed by cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (0.6%), clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (1%), department stores (0.8%), other retailing (0.3%) and household goods retailing (0.1%).
Over the longer term food retailing is the strongest contributor to growth (up 0.4% in trend terms).
By region, sales in Victoria increased 0.6%, followed by New South Wales 0.5% Queensland 0.4%, South Australia 0.4%, Western Australia 0.1%, Tasmania 0.9%, the Northern Territory 0.8% and the Australian Capital Territory 0.4%.
In contrast, retail sales in South Australia fell 0.3% and the Northern Territory (-1.1 per cent). Over the longer term, Victoria was the strongest contributor to growth (up 0.6 per cent in trend terms).
Through the year, Australian retail turnover rose 3.6% in October 2013, seasonally adjusted, compared to October 2012.
The trend estimate for Australian retail turnover rose 0.4% in October 2013, which follows a 0.4% rise in September 2013.
Through the year, the trend estimate rose 3.4% in October 2013 compared to October 2012.
