The Australian Bureau of Statistics is working hard to provide more timely economic data indications.
This the preliminary data for retail activity in April. ABS warn the result is subject to revision.
-17.9 per cent m/m in April 2020, seasonally adjusted
- the strongest seasonally adjusted fall ever … following the strongest ever seasonally adjusted rise in March 2020
- 9.4 per cent y/y
- falls in every industry, with particularly strong falls in food retailing, cafes, restaurants and takeaways, and clothing, footwear and personal accessories
- While March saw a mix of impacts related to COVID-19 across industries, these impacts were overwhelmingly negative in April, as regulations regarding social distancing measures limited the ability of businesses to trade as normal for the entire month.
Bolding mine (ABS comments). Yes, there4 was a nationwide shutdown so hardly surprising that sales plummeted. The shut down was not as severe as that imposed in NZ; cafes, restaurants for example were allowed to sell food for takeaway. From a purely personal observation there were some retailers of 'non-essential' items open in my local shopping strip for the duration. Go figure.
