The Australian Bureau of Statistics said the value of retail sales rose by a less-than-expected 0.3 per cent in February,with almost all the growth associated withSwift’s seven-concert tour of Sydney and Melbourne last month.
Clothing and footwear sales lifted by 4.2 per cent,while they grew by 2.3 per cent through department stores.
“Fashion and accessory retailers told us offerings of Taylor Swift-inspired outfits and related do-it-yourself accessories added to turnover in February,” said the bureau’s head of retail statistics,Ben Dorber.
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But spending fell for household goods (down 0.8 per cent),other retailing (0.4 per cent) and food (0.1 per cent). Retail sales in Victoria climbed by 0.7 per cent,while they were up by 0.6 per cent in NSW. But they fell 0.5 per cent in Swift-less Queensland.
Longer term,retail sales have increased by 1.6 per cent in the year to February. Over the same period,inflation was up by 3.4 per cent,suggesting that in real terms the value of retail sales had fallen.
Separate figures from the bureau showed job vacancies in the three months to the end of February fell by 6.1 per cent to be 17.7 per cent lower over the past year.