Australian retail turnover rose by 0.8% in November 2024, according to seasonally adjusted figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Thursday.

It continues the upward trend recorded in October (0.5%) and September (0.4%), with the ABS attributing the latest rise to Black Friday sales events, which resulted in higher spending across all retail industries.

"Black Friday sales events proved once again to be a big hit, with widespread discounting and higher spending across all retail industries," said ABS head of business statistics, Robert Ewing. "The popularity of Black Friday sales continues to grow with promotional activity now stretching across the entire month of November, not just solely focused on the Black Friday weekend."

All retail industries saw rises in November 2024. Non-food related industries that saw increases include department stores (1.8%), clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (1.6%), household goods retailing (0.6%), and other retailing (0.3%).

"Consumers have taken advantage of Black Friday sales once again, with discounting seen across clothing items, furniture, electrical goods and cosmetics," Ewing said.

Food retailing was boosted by higher spending due to Black Friday price cuts and points incentives through rewards programs.

Retail turnover rose in all states and territories, with the Northern Territory seeing the largest rise, bouncing back from two straight monthly falls.