Australian Retail Sales Shows Continued Positive Momentum
with Sales Up 2.9% in March
Monthly KRI Summary
Discover key insights in the latest Australian Kepler Retail Market Index for March 2025.
Comparison Period: The following insights are based on comparing the five-week retail month of March this year (24 Feb – 30 Mar 2025) to the same period last year (26 Feb – 31 Mar 2024).
Keep in mind; March 2024 included Easter, while in 2025, Easter shifts to April. As a result, March this year includes 1-2 extra trading days – offering a slight performance boost.
Foot Traffic Trends:
- Passer-by traffic rose 3.1% YoY in March (+1.9% YoY for the quarter), marking the fourth straight month of growth.
- Inside traffic also climbed 2.1% YoY (+1.6% YoY for the quarter).
- Both Passer-by traffic and Inside traffic growth in March outperformed February, highlighting continued positive momentum in Australian retail for 2025. While the shift in Easter timing was a tailwind, Cyclone Alfred in early March acted as a headwind on the result.
Sales Conversion Performance:
- Sales conversion remained weak, down 1.2% YoY (-1.6% across the quarter).
- February and March performed significantly better than January’s 3.8% YoY decline, which was likely impacted by strong trading across November and December.
- Sales conversion was particularly weak among retailers in the Personal Accessories category.
Transactions:
- Transaction volumes were up 0.8% YoY in March (and flat across the quarter), as the increase in inside traffic helped offset weaker sales conversion.
Average Transaction Values (ATVs):
- ATVs grew 2.0% YoY in March and averaged 2.7% YoY growth across the quarter.
- While price increases have contributed, retailers have also successfully lifted the number of items per transaction in recent months.
Sales Performance:
- Overall sales grew 2.9% YoY in March (+2.6% YoY for the quarter) and are now up 0.8% YoY over the past 12 months.
- Since the start of the financial year, monthly sales have grown every month–except for November, which was impacted by the later timing of Black Friday.
About Kepler’s Retail Market Index
- Kepler’s Retail Market Index provides the most insightful and most timely view of retail industry performance across both Australia and New Zealand
- The index is based on anonymised data from Kepler’s Retail Foot Traffic Solution customers, primarily non-food specialty retailers
Want to know more? Get in touch or subscribe to the Kepler Retail Market Index
