A Weaker February Continues Across Australian Retail into The New Year
Monthly KRI Summary
Discover key insights in the latest Australian Kepler Retail Market Index for February 2026.
Comparison Period: The following insights are based on comparing the
four-week retail month of February this year (26th January – 22nd February 2026) to the same period last year (27th January – 23rd February 2025)
Foot Traffic Trends:
- Passer-by traffic declined -1.5% YoY in February, continuing a softening trend seen over the past three months (3-month average: -1.2% YoY). Despite the broader decline in foot traffic across the month Passer-by traffic during the Valentines Day Period increased +1.2% YoY, highlighting the continued ability of seasonal events to drive external footfall
- In-store traffic decreased -0.8% YoY in February, falling from January’s strong performance (+2.2% YoY), indicating softer customer engagement as external traffic moderated. A notable outperformance, however, was recorded during the Valentine’s Day Period, with in-store traffic increasing +3.4% YoY
Sales Conversion and Transactions Performance:
- Sales conversion declined by -1.9% YoY in February, a significant pullback from January’s flat +0.1% result. Shop conversion during the Valentines Day Period also fell, decreasing of -2.5% YoY, suggesting that while more shoppers entered stores during the event week, a smaller proportion converted to purchase
- Transactions decreased -2.7% YoY in February, signalling reversal from January’s +2.4% increase and reflecting weaker in-store engagement converting into completed sales
Average Transaction Values (ATVs):
- Average Transaction Values (ATVs) increased +1.4% YoY in February, broadly in line with the 3-month average of +1.9% YoY. While transaction volumes decline, modest growth in spend per transaction helped partially offset softer sales activity
Sales Performance:
- Sales declined -1.4% YoY in February, a marked shift from January’s strong +4.5% YoY growth. However, the Valentines Day Period delivered a +1.9% increase in sales, reinforcing that key retail moments continue to drive performance, even with a softer trading environment
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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