Food and liquor sales have picked up and there are signs a national crackdown on illegal smoking products is working, a leading retail supplier says.
Metcash, which supplies goods to 6,500 independent stores including IGA, Mitre 10, Bottle-O and Cellarbrations, says trading was down in May as consumer sentiment softened in response to geopolitical uncertainty and cost-of-living pressures.
But food and liquor sales bounced back well in June, recovering to the same growth levels of 2025/26, chief executive Doug Jones told a results briefing on Monday.
Trading overall for the first seven weeks of Metcash's new financial year, which began May 1, had been steady, he said.
Total sales were up 1.9 per cent, with food sales climbing 1.6 per cent, liquor sales rising 1.3 per cent and hardware sales increasing 5.8 per cent.
