If you can remember all the way back to January, many people went into a ‘shadow lockdown’ as Omicron cases surged. But according to the latest Bureau of Stats release, that didn’t stop Aussies from shopping up a storm… Retail sales fell 4.4% in December as many Aussies stayed home so as not to ruin Christmas, but January exceeded expectations with a 1.8% increase in retail sales. That’s the 2nd highest monthly gain on record after last November’s end-of-lockdown boom. That result was driven by gains in food retailing (2.2%), ‘other’ retailing including recreational goods, toys and cosmetics (4.5%), and department store purchases (4.9%). Cafes/restaurants/takeaway food services (-0.8%) and clothing/footwear sales (-1%) were the only segments to go backwards as Aussies opted to cook at home in their melded-on trackie dacks. Sounds familiar…