Craig James of CommSec mines the quarterly retail figures and unpublished ABS data to find that spending at cafes and restaurants is growing at the weakest pace in records going back 25 years.
By contrast sales of recreational goods such as sporting equipment and toys jumped 11.9 per cent in the December quarter – the largest rise in 15 years.
As he says, "people are still spending, but they are looking for the specials".
Quarterly changes:
Annual changes:
