UK Retail Sales unexpectedly declined by 1.9%

Estimates of the quantity bought in retail sales increased by 4.3% compared with December 2015 and fell by 1.9% compared with November 2016. The largest contribution to the month-on-month fall came from non-food stores. The underlying trend remains one of growth with the 3 month on 3 month movement in the quantity bought increasing by 1.2%.

U.S. Retail Sales up by 0.6%

Sales at U.S. retailers accelerated in December on the heels of stronger demand for motor vehicles, capping a year of improvement for the nation’s merchants. The 0.6 percent gain last month followed a revised 0.2 percent advance in November, Commerce Department figures showed Friday. For all of 2016, sales climbed 3.3 percent, exceeding the 2.3 percent advance a year earlier.

Australian Retail Sales rose 0.2%

Australian retail turnover rose 0.2 per cent in November 2016, seasonally adjusted, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Retail Trade figures.  This follows a rise of 0.5 per cent in October 2016. In seasonally adjusted terms, there were rises in food retailing (0.4 per cent), clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (1.7 per cent) and household goods retailing (0.2 per cent).

There were falls in cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (-0.8 per cent), department stores (-0.3 per cent) and other retailing (-0.1 per cent).  The trend estimate for Australian retail turnover rose 0.4 per cent in November 2016 following a 0.4 per cent rise in October 2016. Compared to November 2015 the trend estimate rose 3.4 per cent. Online retail turnover contributed 4.1 per cent to total retail turnover in original terms.

UK Retail Sales up by 0.2%

In November 2016, the quantity of goods bought (volume) in the retail industry was estimated to have increased by 5.9% compared with November 2015; all store types showed growth with the largest contribution coming from non-store retailing. Compared with October 2016, the quantity bought was estimated to have increased by 0.2%; there was a mixed picture across store types with strong growth reported in some sectors. In particular, within non-food stores, feedback from household goods stores stated that “Black Friday” events had boosted sales in November.