Retail spending down in June quarter

Retail sales in Australia fell by 3.4 per cent in the June quarter amid coronavirus lockdowns, which is the biggest drop since the GST was introduced in 2000.

Cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services were the hardest hit (down 29.1 per cent), according to seasonally adjusted data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing was down 22 per cent, while food retailing fell 1.6 per cent despite a rise in March.

The falls were slightly offset by a rise in household goods, the bureau said, which were up by 14.6 per cent as consumer demand across furniture, electrical goods and hardware rose.

The bureau revised its estimate of retail sales in June from a gain of 2.4 per cent to 2.7 per cent.

June was the first full month of trade after the first lockdowns were introduced to slow the spread of coronavirus.