Household goods decline 0.4%.

The latest retail trade figures, released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows an insignificant change from the 0.4% rise in January, with seasonally adjusted figures falling 0.1% in February.

There were declines in clothing, footwear and personal accessories (2.5%) and household goods (0.4 %). These falls were offset by rises in department stores (0.8%) and food retailing (0.3%).  In seasonally adjusted terms there were falls in Western Australia (0.7%), Victoria (0.3%), Queensland (0.2%) and the ACT (0.5%), with rises in New South Wales and the Northern Territory (0.4%) and South Australia (0.1%).

Online retail turnover contributed 3.6% to total retail turnover in original terms.

NRA chief executive Dominique Lamb said the ABS figures demonstrated the sluggish state of the Australian retail sector, and underlined the urgent need for the recent penalty rate changes to be introduced.

“The retail sector should be the engine room for job creation in the economy, however the lack of consumer confidence has attributed to the ongoing struggle for retailers. Once the Fair Work Commission’s decision to cut penalty rates begins to take force from July 1, retailers should have a little more breathing space,” she said.

Penalty rate changes would help businesses overcomes sluggish consumer spending, with benefits ranging from increased operating hours to spreading the wages budget further, allowing more staff can be hired, Lamb said.