Online retail sales rebounded in May

Internet Retailing

5th Jul 2017

Online retail sales rebounded in May, following a contraction in April, according to data from NAB.

Seasonally adjusted month-on-month growth was up 1.3 per cent and year-on-year also improved marginally to 7.9 per cent in May, the latest NAB Online Retail Sales Index shows.

This compares to -0.7 per cent month-on-month growth in April and 6.9 per cent year-on-year growth.

Trend online retail sales also picked up slightly from the previous estimate – 0.2 per cent compared to 0.1 per cent – but remain subdued.

However, NAB shows mixed results by category, with spending in homewares and appliances, grocery and liquor, department stores and personal and recreational goods accelerating.

Spending growth in media, takeaway food, daily deals and fashion also slowed, but remained positive. Year-on-year spending on games and toys contracted, compared to May 2016.

Small and medium businesses represent about a third of all online sales and continue to show faster growth than corporates.

NAB estimates that Australian consumers have spent around $22.53 billion over the 12 months to May 2017. This is equivalent to 7.4 per cent of spending at traditional bricks-and-mortar retailers, as measured by the ABS in the 12 months to April 2017.