Online sales growth eased back to +18% yoy in May, following a strong April boost from the Mother’s Day ‘Click Frenzy’ promotion.

• For the year to May 2013, Australians spent around $13.7 billion with online retailers. This level is equivalent to 6.1% of the spending in the traditional bricks & mortar retail sector (excluding cafés, restaurants and takeaway food for a like-to-like comparison) in the year to April 2013.
• The NAB Online Retail Sales Index pushed up a little in May – up to 228 points (from 211 points in April).
• The growth rate for online retail sales slowed in May – with the year-on-year rate pulling back to +18% (compared with +24% yoy in April). Despite an easing in the growth rate, it remains stronger than the comparatively soft trends across February and March 2013.
• In contrast, the rate of growth for traditional bricks & mortar retail was marginally stronger in April 2013 – increasing by +3.2% year-on-year (on a non-seasonally adjusted basis), compared with +2.4% yoy in March. That said, when seasonal factors are included, the growth trend for traditional retail was flat at +3.0% yoy in April.
• While growth for online sales was a little softer in May, this may in part reflect a boost to sales in April, related to the Mother’s Day ‘Click Frenzy’ promotion on April 23, which generated a strong sales lift for a number of participating brands.

For further analysis download the full report.

• Online Retail Sales Index monthly update – May 2013 (PDF 56 KB)