Billions of dollars in tax cuts and infrastructure spending have failed to kickstart the economy - tipped to be growing at its slowest rate since the last recession - increasing expectations the Reserve Bank will be forced to cut interest rates below 1 per cent within a month.

Shoppers closed their wallets in July, pocketing cash or paying off debt with more than $3 billion in tax cuts that had been deposited into bank accounts, leaving retailers watching on as sales fell across the country.

National accounts figures to be released on Wednesday are expected to show the economy growing by less than 1.5 per cent over the year to June 30, well below its historical average of between 3 and 4 per cent. That would be the worst annual result since 1990-91, when the economy shrank 1.4 per cent during Australia's last recession.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been preparing businesses and households for a "very difficult [June] quarter" but Tuesday's retail figures showed the soggy economic outlook is likely to last beyond the 2018-19 financial year.