Commonwealth Bank sales indicator showed spending continued to rise across July

By Rebeccah Elley · · 2 min read
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Retailers rejoiced when June retail spending showed the largest rise since January and the good news keeps on coming, with spending lifting across the nation over July by 0.4% in trend terms, according to the Commonwealth Bank Business Sales Indicator (BSI).

The stats also highlighted seasonally adjusted sales grew by 1.7% in July and had an annual sales growth from 8.1% in June to 11.8% in July. However, the Commonwealth Bank said the economy continues to send out mixed messages about its overall health, with spending continuing to increase but at a decreasing rate, as the BSI was up by 9.3% on a year earlier in annual terms, representing the slowest growth in 10 months.

Commonwealth Bank general manager Adam Bennett said while the July BSI reported modest growth, it was still the 36th consecutive month in which spending had increased.

“We have had three years of spending growth in the economy, supporting a recent reported increase in business confidence. In every State or Territory, except the ACT, sales are higher now than they were 12 months ago.”

The BSI measures economy-wide spending using the value of credit and debit card transactions processed through Commonwealth Bank merchant facilities. Mozo advises Aussies to always search the credit card market for wallet-friendly plastic with a low interest rate and annual fee.

The Australian National Retailers’ Association (ANRA) CEO Margy Osmond said during the twelve months to June, ABS data showed that overall food and non-alcoholic beverages prices rose 2.5%, well below the annual rate of inflation, while overall clothing and footwear prices fell 0.6%.

“This recent ABS inflation data further demonstrates that retailers are continuing to play a major role in keeping food prices low for Australian families. Competition is an important driver of lower prices for Australian households,” Osmond said.

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