Australia’s retail trade figures rose in April, yet spending remains flat for the year, according to new figures published on Tuesday. 
 

The latest data by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed the country’s retail spending increased 0.1% in April compared to the month before. 
 
This followed on from a 0.4% decline in March and a 0.2% rise in February this year, Yahoo Finance reports. 
 
“Underlying retail spending continues to be weak with a small rise in turnover in April not enough to make up for a fall in March,” said Ben Dorber, ABS head of retail statistics.
 
“Since the start of 2024, trend retail turnover has been flat as cautious consumers reduce their discretionary spending.” 
 
In addition, the rise in retail trade figures for April is weak, according to the head of Macroeconomic Forecasting for Oxford Economics Australia, Sean Langcake, as retail sales have remained broadly the same for the last seven months. 
 
Clothing sales were notably poor, declining by 0.7% for the month, whilst food sales also dropped after a strong performance in March, which had been boosted by an earlier-than-usual Easter.
“Consumers have reined in their spending in response to a host of cost-of-living pressures, causing retail sales growth to grind to a halt over much of the past year,” Langcake stated. 
 
“There is some help on the way for household finances from the May budget, with tax cuts and subsidy payments set to boost cashflow from July.
 
“But this is unlikely to be enough to completely shake consumers out of their current funk. We expect momentum in retails sales will remain subdued over 2024,” he continued.