The 13th Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) CHEP Retail Index shows year-on-year growth in retail sales continued to lift in the March quarter.
The index, released today, showed a 5.8 percent rise in March 2014 compared to March 2013, with a turnover of $23.01 billion.
Its expected growth in the index will increase by 6.6 percent for the 12 months leading up to May 2014, with a turnover of $23.62 billion.
Australian Food & Grocery Council CEO Gary Dawson said “It’s encouraging that retail performance has improved across all sectors since mid-2013. Retail sales growth is now at its strongest for more than four years.”
The latest retail data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has confirmed that retail sales picked up strongly late last year with retailers benefiting from an extended period of low interest rates.
ABS figures show a steady increase, with a 0.7 percent estimate for Australian turnover increase each month from December through to February.
CHEP Australia & New Zealand President, Phillip Austin, said “The continued strength in retailer sales over the past two quarterly results suggests a more stable and certain view of economic conditions. Expectations for the next quarter indicate resilience in Australian retail supply chains and sales results.”
See below: Year on Year Growth chart from the AFGC CHEP Retail index.
