Australian retail turnover fell 0.1 per cent in December 2016, seasonally adjusted, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Retail Trade figures.

This follows a rise of 0.1 per cent in November 2016.

In seasonally adjusted terms, there were falls in household goods retailing (-2.3 per cent), and other retailing (-0.2 per cent). These falls were offset by rises in food retailing (0.5 per cent), clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (1.4 per cent), cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (0.2 per cent), and department stores (0.3 per cent).

The fall in household goods retailing is the result of a fall in the Hardware, building and garden supplies retailing industry subgroup, which fell 6.6 per cent in December after rises in each of the previous four months.