Online Retail Sales Index monthly update – November 2013

Growth rates for online sales increased in November – with trends positive for most categories – strength in Media, Groceries and Liquor, Toys and Electronic Games and Department and Variety Stores. Online spending up to $14.6 billion in past year.

• In the year to November 2013, Australians spent $14.6 billion on online retail. This level is equivalent to 6.4% of spending with traditional bricks & mortar retailers (excluding cafés, restaurants and takeaway food to create a like-for-like comparison) in the year to October.
• The NAB Online Retail Sales Index increased modestly in November – to a seasonally adjusted 236 points (from 234 points in October).
• Growth rates for online retail sales increased in November. In monthly terms, seasonally adjusted online sales expanded. Applying a three month moving average trend (to smooth out the volatility in monthly rates), month-on-month growth increased to 1.53% (from a flat October result) – on par with the acceleration in growth seen in July.
• Sales growth for traditional bricks & mortar retail has improved – increasing by +0.6% in October (on a seasonally adjusted, three month moving average basis).
• The improved growth trend for online retail sales reflects almost uniform improvement in conditions at the category level. In year-on-year terms, the rate of growth was up to +10.7% – faster than that observed in some recent results. Particular strength was observed in Media (+28%), and Groceries and Liquor (+16%). More moderate growth was evident in both the Toys and Electronic Games category (+13%), a likely beneficiary of new games console releases, and Department and Variety Stores (+11%). Personal & Recreational Goods (-6%YoY) was the only category to experience a contraction.

 For further analysis download the full report.

• Online Retail Sales Index monthly update – November 2013 (PDF 74KB)