Retail sales fall 2.7 per cent in December following Black Friday

ANZ Chief Economist Richard Yetsenga has discussed the decline in retail sales numbers over December. Retail sales in December fell 2.7 per cent month on month, the biggest fall since August 2020. It follows a revised rise of 1.6 per cent in November 2023 and a fall of 0.2 per cent in October 2023. Mr Yetsenga said the fall in retail sales was attributed to consumers cutting back on discretionary spending as well as a change in consumer behaviour. “There's the forest and there is the trees. The trees are this changed seasonality with November Black Friday sales pulling some sales into November, so we need to kind of abstract from that,” he told Sky News Business Editor Ross Greenwood. “The forest story is spending has been down, it's continuing to trend lower. “It's part of that slower, economic dynamic and consistent with the idea that the banks are trying really hard not to hike anymore, and look, I don’t think they will, I think they're on hold now before we start to see some easing.”