“Australian retail sales expanded at the fastest pace in 19 months in September as consumers went on a buying frenzy for Apple’s new phones, giving a sizable boost to the entire economy in the process,” Wayne Cole reports for Reuters. “Retailers saw sales jump 1.2 percent in September, the biggest gain since February last year and far above forecasts of only a 0.4 percent increase. The ABS noted that electrical and electronic goods retailing surged 9.2 percent in September, “influenced” by the release of the iPhone 6. As a result, sales of household goods overall enjoyed their biggest rise in over 14 years.The ABS noted that electrical and electronic goods retailing surged 9.2 percent in September, ‘influenced’ by the release of the iPhone 6. As a result, sales of household goods overall enjoyed their biggest rise in over 14 years.
The revival in spending for September helped rescue what had been a lackluster quarter for retailers and lifted inflation-adjusted sales by a surprisingly hefty 1.0 percent to a record A$68.5 billion ($59.5 billion).The revival in spending for September helped rescue what had been a lackluster quarter for retailers and lifted inflation-adjusted sales by a surprisingly hefty 1.0 percent to a record A$68.5 billion ($59.5 billion).”
Cole reports, “‘It certainly gets us off to a good start,’ said Michel Blythe, chief economist at Commonwealth Bank. ‘It does suggest whatever post-budget pullback we might have seen on the consumer side is over and demonstrates the ability of new items like the iPhone 6 to kick things along.'”
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