New figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show household spending on retail rose 4.8 per cent year-on-year in December 2025, easing from 7 per cent year-on-year growth in November. While this rounds out a solid peak trading period, the softer December result confirms many households brought forward their Christmas shopping, taking advantage of Black Friday discounts and spreading spending across October and November rather than the traditional December peak. 

Total household spending on retail reached $38.6 billion, with growth strongest in cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (up 8.2 per cent). More discretionary categories such as clothing, household goods and department stores recorded more modest gains, reflecting ongoing pressure on household budgets. 

Spending was uneven across the country. Queensland and Western Australia led annual growth at 6.3 per cent and 7.6 per cent respectively, while New South Wales and Victoria grew by just over 3 per cent in the month. 

ARC CEO Chris Rodwell said the data shows consumers remain highly price-sensitive, with retailers operating in an increasingly uncertain environment. 

“For retailers, December has historically carried much of the heavy lifting for the year. When spending is pulled forward into earlier discount periods, it can place additional pressure on already thin margins,” Mr Rodwell said. “We’re not seeing the levels of consumer confidence that will sustain higher levels of spending. Households are chasing discounts, shopping earlier and tightly managing what they spend. Cost-of-living pressures are still very much front of mind. The recent interest rate rise will add to this uncertainty, further undercutting confidence for businesses and their customers.” 

Mr Rodwell said the concern is that short-term slowdowns could become a longer-lasting trend. 

“Retailers have absorbed several patchy years post-COVID. With interest rates rising again, mortgage costs increasing and energy rebates ending, consumer spending remains fragile. The cost of doing business continues to climb – from significant rent and wage increases to energy, insurance and supply chain costs along with the intense cost of retail crime. Families are under pressure, and businesses are having to work harder for every dollar,” he said. “Urgent economic reform that eases the cost of doing business will be critical if we’re to avoid a broader slowdown in consumer spending.” 

December 2025 retail spending year-on-year: 

• Household goods retailing: up 4.6% 

• Other retailing: up 7.7% 

• Cafés, restaurants and takeaway food services: up 8.2% 

• Clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing: up 3.1% 

• Department stores and large online retailers: up 3.45% 

• Food retailing: up 2.9% 

By state: 

• NSW: up 3.3% 

• Victoria: up 3.8% 

• Queensland: up 6.3% 

• South Australia: up 5.7% 

• Western Australia: up 7.6% 

• Tasmania: up 5.3% 

• Northern Territory: up 5.1% 

• ACT: up 3% 

E media@retail.org.au   P 0434 381 670 

About us: Australian Retail Council (ARC) represents a $444 billion sector that employs 1.4 million Australians across metropolitan, regional, and remote communities – making retail the largest private sector employer in the country and a significant contributor to the Australian economy. Our membership spans the full spectrum of Australian retail, from family-owned small and independent retailers that make up 95% of our membership, through to our largest national and international retailers that employ thousands of Australians and support both metropolitan and regional communities every day.  

Retailers call for urgent productivity reform, lower costs and safer workplaces in Federal Budget 

Costly and complex government policies are choking productivity at the worst possible time for retailers and households. Red tape continues to pile up, illegal tobacco and escalating retail crime are undermining business viability and worker safety, and ultra-cheap offshore platforms are allowed to sidestep Australian laws altogether. These failures are distorting competition, driving up costs and demand urgent action in the Federal Budget. 

The newly formed Australian Retail Council (ARC) has lodged its first major submission, outlining seven targeted reforms to strengthen retail productivity, support investment and ease cost of living pressures for Australian households and businesses as part of the pre-Budget process. 

With RBA interest rate uncertainty underscoring the importance and urgency of economic reform, ARC warns that fragmented regulation, rising compliance costs and unchecked illicit activity are undermining productivity and confidence. 

ARC is calling for seven priority Budget reforms: 

1. Deliver productivity growth through national harmonisation
   Fund nationally coordinated reform to remove duplication acrossjurisdictions, lower compliance costs, make it easier for businesses — particularly small retailers — to operate across state borders, and unlock productivity growth. 
2. Modernisetax settings to lift investment and competitiveness
   Establish a Tax and Federation Reform Commission to simplify settings, align company tax at 25 per cent, reject new parallel taxes, and prioritise practical reforms that boost competitiveness and investment. 

3. Reduce regulatory impacts that disproportionately affect small retailers
   Target high-friction compliance and reporting requirements to deliver measurable burden reduction, improve small businessviability and ensure regulatory impact analysis genuinely considers business cost and complexity. 
4. Improve worker safety by tacklingorganisedretail crime and illicit tobacco
   Strengthen coordinated action to disrupt organised retail crime and illicit tobacco trade, which drive up prices, insurance costs and place retail workers and customers at risk. 
5. Enforce compliance against ultra-low-cost offshore retailers
   Take stronger action to enforce compliance with Australian Consumer Law,privacy and other regulatory obligations, ensuring offshore retailers compete on a fair and level playing field. 
6. Moderniseworkplace relations and invest in retail skills and training
   Invest in practical workplace relations guidance and flexible, industry-led training that supports compliance, skills development and progression into frontline and supervisory roles, while reducing unnecessary disputes. 
7. Deliver nationally consistent packaging reform through Federal leadership
   Provide Federal leadership and investment to implement nationally consistent, enforceable packaging reform that reduces duplication, supports a circulareconomy and avoids unnecessary costs being passed on to businesses and consumers. 

ARC CEO Chris Rodwell said retail performance is a bellwether for the broader economy.  

“Retailers, like households, are under pressure from rising costs. They’re also dealing with escalating regulatory complexity and increasing safety risks. To add to this, they’re navigating rapid structural change, shifting consumer trends, seismic technological change, heightened geopolitical risk and a deteriorating fiscal and monetary policy environment,” Mr Rodwell said. “These challenges underline the need for ambitious economic reform that delivers for retailers and households. Sustainable cost of living relief depends on policy reform that reduces unnecessary cost and complexity across the economy.” 

Mr Rodwell said the 2026–27 Budget is an opportunity to deliver nationally coordinated reforms that strengthen one of Australia’s most economically and socially significant sectors. 

“Retail employs 1.4 million Australians and in making up almost one fifth of our gross domestic product, it sits at the centre of the economy. Productivity is being dragged down by regulatory fragmentation, rising compliance costs and growing safety risks in stores,” Mr Rodwell said. “At the same time, it’s critical ultra-low-cost offshore retailers are held to the same Australian consumer, privacy and safety laws as local Australian retailers. We’re seeing other economies take action to ensure confidence in the system is not undermined, and competition is not distorted. The Federal Government and its agencies need to follow suit.” 

Mr Rodwell said the best way to help households is to lift productivity and stop unnecessary costs being baked into prices.  

“A lift in productivity is also critical to underpin real wage growth, rather than fall into the trap of the artificial and unaffordable ‘above inflation’ wage claims promoted by the union movement. History tells us that there is always a deeply uncomfortable reckoning when any economy lives beyond its means for too long. Genuine reform is the antidote to Australia’s economic underperformance,” he said. 

“Retailers are asking for practical reform that removes duplication, improves safety and allows them to invest, grow and compete. It’s time to back the retailers that back Australia.” 

E media@retail.org.au   P 0434 381 670 

About us: Australian Retail Council (ARC) represents a $444 billion sector that employs 1.4 million Australians across metropolitan, regional, and remote communities – making retail the largest private sector employer in the country and a significant contributor to the Australian economy. Our membership spans the full spectrum of Australian retail, from family-owned small and independent retailers that make up 95% of our membership, through to our largest national and international retailers that employ thousands of Australians and support both metropolitan and regional communities every day.  

Australia’s retail sector has entered a new era with the formal launch of the Australian Retail Council (ARC), a single, unified voice representing the interests of retailers of all sizes across the country.

ARC is formed through the amalgamation of the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) and the National Retail Association (NRA), marking a historic milestone in more than 120 years of advocacy, support and industry leadership.

ARC Chief Executive Officer Chris Rodwell said ARC is determined to ensure the efforts of the entire retail community are respected and celebrated across the nation.

“I’m thrilled to celebrate the launch of the Australian Retail Council. ARC brings together the collective strength and expertise of two respected institutions into a single, powerful voice that represents every retailer – from family-owned businesses to iconic national brands,” he said. “Retail contributes $444 billion to the economy and is our largest private sector employer, with a workforce of 1.4 million people.”

The new ARC brand has been unveiled today, under the banner, ‘Let’s talk shop.’

“Retail sits at the heart of our communities. We want to ‘talk shop’ with every Australian, helping people better understand and engage with our members and our industry. As such a critical sector, we’re determined to play a bigger role in the national economic conversation,” said Mr Rodwell. “At ARC, we’re backing the retailers that back Australia – whether that’s reducing retail crime, driving economic reform, creating jobs and careers, supporting small businesses, lifting efforts to address climate change and sustainability, supporting regional communities or adopting technology.”

Members can rely on ARC to support them with a range of services and benefits. This extends to workplace relations advice, legal and HR support and resources, policy & advocacy, training and skills development, research and market insights, specialised retail content, and a full calendar of events, conferences and networking opportunities.

“The combined membership base reflects the diversity and strength of modern Australian retail and our role at ARC is to tell the story of retail across Australia and to support them to build thriving businesses,” said Mr Rodwell. “We also want to inspire more Australians to consider careers in retail. For many it’s a rite of passage into the Australian workforce. Retail also offers extraordinary long-term career options, whether creating or evolving brands, building new customer experiences, evolving pricing models, adopting AI or technology solutions, or managing complex supply chains, The pace of innovation in retail right now leads many other sectors in the economy.”

A transitional board, consisting of members of the former ARA Council and NRA Board, is now in place and will serve until elections for a new ARC Board are held later in 2026. The Chair of the ARC Board is Nicole Sheffield and Deputy Chair is Antony Moore.

Mr Rodwell is the inaugural CEO of the Australian Retail Council. Members of the leadership team include:

• Chief Industry Engagement and Marketing Officer, Fleur Brown
• Chief Policy Officer & Chief Economist, Glenn Fahey
• Chief Operating Officer, Nathalie Rosette-Barber
• Chief Legal and Industrial Relations Officer, Lindsay Carroll

The ARC’s membership services are designed to support businesses and their employees at every stage of growth. For further details on ARC membership, services, events and resources, visit retail.org.au.

E media@retail.org.au   P 0434 381 670