Myer said the slide towards concession stores had gone too far. Credit:Bloomberg The figures were "not at all" surprising for Ben Duval, who manages Carwyn Cellars bar and bottle shop in Thornbury, in Melbourne's gentrifying northern suburbs. "You look at history, even in times of depression there hasn't been dips in alcohol sales," Mr Duval said. Sales in his own store were up about 30 per cent on last winter, he said, which he put down to its specialising in beer, wine and spirits produced by small, independent producers. The ABS measures sales by dollar value – not volume – and Mr Duval said drinkers of mass-produced beer were increasingly picking up "craft" ales, which can retail for up to $40 a bottle.

"Definitely quality over quantity is the trend, and particular if it's a product that's well presented and it's got a bit of a story". Separate figures the ABS released last week showed alcohol consumption in Australia had risen for the first time in 10 years. Hospitality has been one of the most resilient sectors in retail more broadly, and Thursday's figures showed spending at cafes, restaurants and on takeaway was growing at 6.5 per cent year on year. That compares with 1.3 per cent growth for clothing, footwear and accessories, and sales falling 0.7 per cent at department stores year on year. Department stores were down 2.8 per cent in July alone.

ANZ senior economist Jo Masters said the influx of online and foreign fashion chains, such as H&M and Uniqlo, were creating more competition and driving down prices. Ms Masters said consumers meanwhile faced record low wage growth, relatively high job insecurity and high household debt, making them reluctant to spend. She said consumption growth had previously run ahead of wage growth because shoppers had felt wealthier as the value of their houses grew, but that was easing. "Every time they open the newspaper they're being told that household growth is slowing and it's going to slow a lot further, so that wealth affect through the housing market has dissipated," Ms Masters said. End to pain in sight? Macquarie analysts on Thursday said the poor consumer sentiment plaguing retailers could soon improve, albeit slowly, predicting that the recent "near recessionary levels" of income growth – 3 per cent over the past five years and dipping to 2 per cent over the past 12 months, compared to the long-term average of 6 to 7 per cent – were likely to start tending upwards.

Wage growth should return to 2.5 per cent over the next three years, unemployment will trend down and consumers will continue to dig into their savings to spend, Macquarie told clients. That would translate to real consumption growth of about 2.5 per cent in the years to 2020, the investment bank said. The five-year average is 4.3 per cent.