Australian retail sales growth of 7.7% for January 2023 year on year is a healthy rate of growth overall, but under the surface shows a shift in the allocation of spend, away from housing-related retail, towards recreation and dining. The drop in growth for housing-related retail is inevitable given its two years of elevated growth combined with a fall in housing churn. Other categories will slow soon, but for the time-being they are benefiting from the normalisation of supply and consumer preferences.