Australian retail gross sales skilled a modest enhance in February, with a seasonally adjusted rise of 0.3%, following a major enhance from Taylor Swift’s sold-out concert events in Sydney and Melbourne, in keeping with contemporary figures from ABS.

The rise comes after a 1.1% enhance in January 2024 and a 2.1% lower in December.

Live shows enhance retail spending

ABS reported that greater than 600,000 followers attended the pop star’s concert events, driving up purchases in clothes, merchandise, equipment, and eating out.

“Seven sold-out Taylor Swift concert events in Sydney and Melbourne boosted retail spending this month,” stated Ben Dorber (pictured above), head of retail statistics at ABS, in a media launch.

The surge in spending contributed to the general development in retail gross sales, regardless of a modest underlying development pattern.

Underlying development stays tepid

Regardless of the thrill across the concert events, Dorber identified the broader context.

“Wanting previous the momentary and one-off affect of the Taylor Swift concert events, underlying development in retail turnover was up solely 0.1% in pattern phrases,” he stated.

This means that other than particular occasions driving momentary spikes, the overall retail atmosphere stays comparatively stagnant by way of development.

Sector-specific affect

Particular sectors noticed notable will increase, with clothes, footwear, and private accent retailing rising by 4.2%, and shops by 2.3%.

The affect of the Taylor Swift concert events prolonged to cafes, eating places, and takeaway meals companies, which noticed a 0.5% rise.

“Trend and accent retailers informed us choices of Taylor Swift-inspired outfits and associated do-it-yourself equipment added to turnover in February,” Dorber stated.

Diverse efficiency throughout sectors and states

ABS additionally outlined a lower in turnover in sectors like family items retailing (-0.8%), different retailing (-0.4%), and meals retailing (-0.1%), indicating weaker underlying retail spending.

Geographically, retail turnover rose in most jurisdictions, with Victoria (0.7%) and New South Wales (0.6%) experiencing important will increase, attributed to the inflow of holiday makers and native live performance goers’ spending. In distinction, Queensland (-.0.5%) recorded the biggest fall.

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