EOFY sales not enough to tempt shoppers to spend more

Retail spending fell at end-of-financial-year sales in June, as cost of living pressures continue to make an impact.

Data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed a drop of -0.8 percent in retail spending in June, with department stores bearing the brunt of the damage, with a fall of -5.0 percent. This was followed by other retailing (-2.2 percent) and clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (-2.2 percent).

In further signs of belt tightening in household budgets, spending at cafes, restaurants and takeaway services saw a marginal decrease of -0.3 percent.

The data follows on from results collated in May, where spending increased by 0.8 percent.

Head of ABS retail statistics Ben Dorber said the mixed results indicated that consumers were continuing to grapple with cost-of-living pressures.

“There was extra discounting and promotional activity in May, leading up to mid-year sales events,” he said. “This delivered a boost in turnover for retailers, but that proved to be temporary as consumers pulled back on spending in June.”

He noted that while eating out had become less frequent, food spending in general was consistent, if slightly altered.

“Over the last 12 months, growth in food-related spending has mostly been driven by rising food prices,” Mr Dorber said. “We saw in Wednesday’s release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) that food prices rose again in the June quarter.

“Consumers are responding to these price rises by changing to cheaper brands or by simply buying less.”

The Australian birth rate is at a record low, new data has shown.

Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics have revealed there were 286,998 births registered around the country last year, or 1.5 babies per woman.

Birth rates in Australia have been in a slow decline since the 1990s, down from 1.86 births per woman in 1993. Declining fertility rates among girls and women aged 15 to 19 years was most stark, down two thirds, while for women aged 40 to 44 years, the rate had almost doubled.

“The long-term decline in fertility of younger mums as well as the continued increase in fertility of older mums reflects a shift towards later childbearing,” said Beidar Cho, ABS head of demography statistics. “Together, this has resulted in a rise in median age of mothers to 31.9 years, and a fall in Australia’s total fertility rate.”

The fall in the Australian birth rate is in keeping with worldwide trends, with the United States also seeing fertility rates hit a 32-year low. The Lancet reported earlier this year that, based on current trends, by 2100 more than 97 percent of the world’s countries and territories “will have fertility rates below what is necessary to sustain population size over time”.

On a global scale, the Lancet reported that the total fertility rate had “more than halved over the past 70 years” from about five children per female in the 1950s to 2.2 children in 2021. In countries such as South Korea and Serbia, the rate is already less than 1.1 child for each female.

Governments around the world have tried to incentivise would-be parents, offering money, increased access to childcare and better paid maternity leave.

Experts have said without additional immigration, lower birth rates and an ageing population in Australia could put further pressure on young people, threaten economic growth and create economic uncertainty. However, a study released earlier this year by the University of Canberra showed the cost of raising a child to adulthood was between $474,000 and $1,097,000.

EOFY sales not enough to tempt shoppers to spend more

Shoppers cut back on unnecessary spending as household budgets feel the squeeze, new data shows

Governments around the world are offering incentives to reverse a downward spiral that could threaten economic growth