KEPLER RETAIL MARKET INDEX (KRI) Monthly Summary – August

Discover key insights in the latest Australian Kepler Retail Market Index for August 2026.

New This Month – We Have Moved to the New KRI:

• From this edition, the monthly commentary is produced on the new Kepler Retail Market Index, built on a substantially expanded benchmark panel of over 3,000 stores in this month’s like-for-like panel
• Group definitions have changed. States are now reported as combined regions: NSW & ACT, VIC & TAS, SA & NT, QLD and WA
• Because the panel and the groupings have changed, every figure and average in this edition, including the three-month averages, is calculated on the new KRI basis. Results should be compared within this edition rather than against monthly commentary published before August 2026

Comparison Period: 

• The following insights compare the four-week retail month of August 2026 (27th of July – 23rd of August 2026) with the equivalent period last year (28th of July – 24th of August 2025)
• August was a clean trading month. There were no school holidays or major promotional events during the period, so the result is not distorted by the calendar shifts that reshaped July
• The RBA left the interest rate on hold at 4.35%, which has consequently improved consumer confidence, with confidence improving steadily throughout the month. However, numerous sources have flagged that an increase is expected, which will naturally flow into customer purchasing decisions

Summary:

• August split retailers into two distinct opportunity types, depending on how their foot traffic and conversion moved
• If your shopfront conversion rose but your sales conversion fell — the more common pattern this month — customers are entering the store but not converting to a sale. Staffing capacity during peak hours is one place to look, but it’s not the only one: check whether queue times or fitting room waits are costing you at the point of decision, whether floor staff are engaging shoppers early enough rather than after they’ve already lost interest, whether the right product is in front of customers at the right time — assortment and stock levels matching what’s actually driving footfall — and whether availability on key lines is forcing customers to leave empty-handed. If instead your shopfront conversion fell, fewer customers came in, but those who did tend to buy with more intent and spend more. The lever there is getting more people through the door, not converting them once inside
• For most stores, conversion is the single biggest lever in the market right now. Sales grew through more transactions this month, but that happened while conversion fell — holding conversion flat would have turned a solid month into a strong one, with no extra traffic required
• Basket growth has also stalled. Add-on prompts at the fitting room and counter are a low-cost way to reopen that, and worth prioritising in NSW & ACT given the softer basket trend there this month

Foot Traffic Trends:

• Passer-by traffic grew +0.8% YoY in August, a second consecutive month of growth and well ahead of the three-month average of -0.7% YoY
• In-store traffic rose +3.1% YoY, the strongest month since January and far ahead of the three-month average of -0.7% YoY. Shopfront conversion lifted +2.2% YoY, so stores drew a materially greater share of passers-by inside than a year ago
• Momentum faded late. In-store traffic grew +3.4%, +3.2% and +4.8% YoY across the first three weeks, then slowed to +1.0% in the final week as passer-by traffic turned negative at -1.2% YoY
• Every region grew store visitation except SA & NT, while QLD saw the greatest improvement 

Sales Conversion Performance:

• Sales conversion fell -1.4% YoY in August, the first monthly decline since April and well behind the three-month average of +1.7% YoY
• The decline deepened week by week. Conversion opened the month at +3.2% YoY, then moved to -2.0%, -3.0% and -3.5% across the following three weeks
• Dwell time was also down -1.9% YoY. More shoppers came in, spent less time in store, and fewer of them bought

Average Transaction Values (ATVs):

• Average transaction values were flat at +0.1% YoY, well short of July and behind the three-month average of +0.5% YoY

Sales Performance:

• Sales grew +1.7% YoY in August with transactions also up+1.7%, ahead of the three-month average of +1.5% YoY. Growth came from volume, not from basket size
• The composition of the result is the key point. Stores earned more traffic and converted less of it. Had conversion simply held flat, August would have been a materially stronger month on the same footfall
• In terms of categories, Apparel led in sales due to its strong in-store traffic, but saw a decrease in its basket size. Personal Care & Wellness saw the greatest YoY decrease in sales, driven by a decrease in in-store traffic

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 

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