Retail turnover in September grew by 2.9 per cent in September 2013 compared to September 2012 to $22.1 billion, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Month on month sales also increased, rising 0.8 per cent in September in comparison to August, and following a month on month rise the previous month of 0.5 per cent.

Footwear and personal accessory retailing saw the largest increase in sales for September at 2.5 per cent, followed by department stores, 2.8 per cent; other retailing, 1.6 per cent; and cafes, restaurants, and takeaway food services, 0.6 per cent.

A decline in sales was witnessed by household goods retailing, which fell 0.4 per cent.

Footwear and personal accessories has replaced cafes restaurants and takeaway as the strongest growing category in retail.

Turnover rose in NSW and Victoria by one per cent; 0.8 per cent in Queensland; and 0.7 per cent in South Australia, Tasmania, the ACT, and the Northern Territory. These rises were partially offset by a fall in Western Australia of 0.2 per cent.

Historically, retail trade estimates have contributed 55 per cent to 60 per cent of Household Final Consumption Expenditure (HFCE) in the expenditure side of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), however, this coverage of HFCE has fallen over time as household expenditure patterns have gradually shifted from goods to services. As a result, retail trade now contributes around 30 per cent of quarterly estimates of HFCE.