I welcome today's release of the Australian Bureau of Statistics Retail Trade publication, which showed that Australian retail spending rose 0.4 per cent in January 2015 – the fastest rise in three months.
The figures are encouraging news for Australia's 127 000 small businesses operating in the retail sector. The biggest increase was seen in cafe, restaurant and takeaway food retailing, while household goods retailing also recorded a solid rise.
Total retail spending was $23.88 billion in January, up from $23.79 billion in December. In trend terms, Australian turnover rose 3.1% in January 2015 compared with January 2014.