Retail therapy continues to be a major passion for Australians. According to Mastercard SpendingPulse, which measures in-store and online retail sales across all forms of payment, national retail sales surged 9.9 per cent in April, by contrast to the same month in 2021.

The lift was felt across all major retail categories – Fashion, clothing and footwear ( +11.9%), Electronics (+20.3%), Homewares (+15.7%), Jewellery (+13.2%), Groceries (+16.4%) and Fuel and Convenience (+17.6%).

Paul Zahra, CEO of the Australian Retailers Association (ARA), was pleased to see ongoing growth.

“April was another strong month for retail with businesses spurred along by increased spending around the Easter holiday with people getting away for a well-earned break and stocking up on food and drink for their family get-togethers. Covid restrictions were also eased, including close contact isolation requirements, which allowed many businesses to trade closer to their full potential”.

A strong performance backed by improving sales and leasing agreements for the March quarter from major shopping centre operators such as Scentre Group, Vicinity and the GPT Group.

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