Deloitte’s latest analysis of the latest CHEP Retail Index – which uses transactional data from CHEP pallet movements to provide a lead indicator of Australian Bureau of Statistics retail trade data – has signalled minimal retail sales growth in the second quarter of 2018.
The modest growth in pallet movements in the first few months of 2018 suggests that retailers expect the trading environment to be soft over the next few months. According to Deloitte, retail sales growth has been moderate in the past three months, with solid growth in February following a weak result for December 2017.
But in annual terms, retail sales growth has been improving since a low point around September last year.
“Retail sales growth remains modest, with consumers experiencing little wages growth, and confidence remaining fragile,” said David Rumbens, partner at Deloitte Access Economics.
“However, a particularly weak patch for retail sales in the second half of 2017 appears to be behind us, and the stunning growth in employment that we continue to witness should lend some support to retail spending in the near term.”
Looking ahead, the economic environment supports some further modest improvement in retail sales growth in 2018, with recent strong employment growth and a likely pickup in wage growth flowing through to higher consumer spending.
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