Inside Retail presents the Australian Retail Index.

The index gives a quick overview of retail statistics in four key categories; fashion and accessories, furniture and homewares, sporting and recreational, and other.

Key retail statistics are shown weekly, with yearly comparisons available.

Retail sales rebounded strongly last week lead by an 11.23 per cent rise in sales performance by the fashion and accessories sector.

Overall sales grew by exactly five per cent which is an encouraging sign for retailers across the country, given the weak sales data we have seen over the last few weeks.

All sectors reported growth, with furniture and homewares posting a strong rate of 5.74 per cent.

Interestingly, while last week saw positive results, these were still slightly short of the growth seen in the same week in 2014.