Retailers have finally received some good news with new data showing sales recorded the biggest rise, of 1 per cent, for the first time in two and half years.
It was led by internet-proof sectors of fresh food, eating out and services, such as beauty salon and cosmetics, and a good bottle of wine.
The opening of the ninth Sephora cosmetics store in Sydney reflects the boom in grooming for men and women.
Sephora Australia country manager Libby Amelia said in terms of market growth, "since our 2014 launch we have helped to grow the overall Australian beauty sector, giving consumers all over the country increased exposure to a wider beauty selection".
Department stores Myer and David Jones, which this week launched their mid-year clearance sales, also showed some gains, while the discount department stores continue to feel the heat of the internet.
For the month of April, which included Easter and school holidays in most states, retail trade rose by 1 per cent, from a four-year low of 2.2 per cent to 3.1 per cent.
Spending rose the most at liquor retailing, up 3.6 per cent, followed by other specialised food retailing, up 2.9 per cent.
The improvement will augur well for the retail property sector, where there have been two large sales during the week of the Castle Hill and Marsden Park large retail format centres to Aventus.
Asset sales
There is also the sale of a half share of the $1.5 billion Indooroopilly Shopping Centre in Brisbane.
Eureka – Real Assets is the investment manager for the mall's owner, Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation, which bought the initial interest in Indooroopilly in 1988 and moved progressively to full ownership in 2006. It has an annual sales turnover of $667 million.
Head of transactions for Eureka – Real Assets, Quentin Shaw, said the successful completion of the centre's redevelopment and strong value growth had resulted in Indooroopilly representing a significantly increased proportion of CSC's portfolio and this was expected to increase with future growth.
CommSec senior economist Savanth Sebastian said the latest retail sales result "was just what the doctor ordered".
"After falling in three of the past four months, retail sales has recorded the biggest monthly gain in two and a half years," Mr Sebastian said.
"And, encouragingly, the gains were spread across the nation. However it should be noted the result was in April which was in the midst of Easter, school holidays and the Anzac Day long weekend.
"In fact, the two holiday long weekends in April clearly showed up in the spending mix. Spending on beer, wine and spirits recorded the strongest monthly increase in almost six years. And spending at specialised food retailers – like butchers, seafood and fruit & veg outlets – recorded the biggest gain in over three years."
Colliers International director of research Daniel Lees and head of retail Michael Bate also noted strength in the non-discretionary portion of the economy, together with hospitality related sectors.
"This aligns with much of the feedback we are hearing from landlords and the very deliberate push into high-end food offerings or experienced based offerings," Mr Lees said.
Melbourne's CBD retail vacancy has increased over the past year however shopping centres have been immune to the trend with the vacancy rate dropping to under 1 per cent, the first time it has fallen to this level.
Knight Frank's latest CBD retail survey found that the overall CBD retail vacancy rose from 2.45 per cent in June last year to 2.7 per cent by the end of May 2017.
Knight Frank retail leasing director Gary Loo said the strong demand from tenants in shopping centres was largely attributed to incentives offered by landlords, which could include fitout contributions and rent-free periods.
In Sydney, retail assets in Sydney's CBD attract the highest gross face rents nationally and have grown at a faster pace than any other retail sector. Sydney CBD rents increased 16.32 per cent over the year to an average of $10,760, supported by growth across all major precincts, according to Mr Lees.