• In April, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the index accelerated (1.1% mom), with March revised slightly higher (0.5%, was 0.4%). 
• Growth slowed slightly in year-on-year terms (13.2% yoy), with the three months to April about a percentage point slower than the three months prior.
• Growth in mom terms was positive for all categories in April except games and toys, and fashion. The significant fall for the latter category follows two strong months. The food related categories rebounded in April and led growth in the month.  For large sales category, department stores, improved, along with media. Homewares and appliances, on the other hand, slowed.
• Mixed results were observed this month by state, with growth for most jurisdictions except VIC, TAS and NT, albeit mild for the former. QLD recorded a large rebound in April, as the impact of events around cyclone Alfred eased. This was particularly noticeable for the homewares and appliance category, with growth well above the national average.
• Although slowing slightly, in yoy terms, metro growth continues to outpace regional. Vic was the only state where regional outpaced metro this month (yoy terms).
• While growth slowed for international retailers in the month, it continues to outpace domestic retailers in yoy terms.
• NAB estimates that in the 12 months to April, Australians spent $62.55 billion on online retail, a level that is around 14.2% of the total retail trade estimate (March 2025, Series 8501, Australian Bureau of Statistics.

NAB Chief Economist, Sally Auld commented:

Online retail sales growth accelerated 1.1% in April, in mom, seasonally adjusted terms. This was much faster than our NAB Monthly Data Insights measure for broader retail (0.2% mom). In growth terms, online has outperformed our broader measure in ten of the past twelve months. The large sales category, department stores, is a clear difference between the online and the broader series – with online sales at department stores up solidly in the month, while our broader retail sales measure for the category contracted for a second month. Also noticeable in both series was the return to growth in QLD, after cyclone Alfred-induced weakness in March. QLD is the third largest state for online retail sales, so a strong contribution to growth for that state helped to counter weakness in VIC in the month.

Get all the insights in the NAB Online Retail Sales Index (April 2025)