New data shows South Australia’s growth in retail turnover was the highest of all states through the year.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures for July 2023 reveal retail turnover in SA increased by 4.2% from July 2022 to be the highest of all states and well above the national average of 2.1%, in seasonally adjusted terms.

In the month, retail trade levels fell by 0.1%, reflecting rising interest rates beginning to impact household budgets.

This was a smaller fall than Western Australia and Tasmania, but below the national average in the month of 0.5%.

The through the year growth figure reflects South Australia’s resilience so far on economic statistics compared to the rest of the nation.

While inflation is a factor in rising retail trade levels, the actual volume of goods sold in South Australia has also held up in comparison to the rest of the nation.

On last month’s release of quarterly retail trade figures, real retail trade levels increased by 1.1%, easily the highest growth in volume of goods sold of all states.

This was well above the national average of a fall of 1.4%.