Inside Retail presents the Australian Retail Index.

The index gives a quick overview of retail statistics in four key categories; fashion and accessories, furniture and homewares, sporting and recreational, and other.

Key retail statistics are shown weekly, with yearly comparisons available.

Despite a recent uplift in retail sales across the country, the retail sector has again shown its volatility with sales growth dropping dramatically over the last week.

Most sectors were down by more than 15 per cent, with overall sales dropping by 15.94 per cent from the previous weeks figures.

Looking at the same trading week in 2014, we can see that the Index showed a slight decline in sales growth of 1.55 per cent, making the 2015 result even more surprising.

It remains to be seen if Mother’s Day can provide retailers with the traditional lift in sales growth we come to expect from these special retail events.