Retail sales in Australia rose 0.3 percent on the month in February after increasing 1.1 percent in January, with year-over-year growth picking up from 1.1 percent to 1.6 percent. Sales rose by 0.6 percent and 0.7 percent on the month respectively in the two most populous states and territories, New South Wales and Victoria, with this outperformance largely driven by more than 600,000 people attending Taylor Swift concerts during the month. This was partly offset by a decline in sales in the third most populous state, Queensland. Growth was mixed across major categories, with strong increases in clothing and department store sales offset by declines in sales of food and household goods. Excluding the impact of the concerts and volatility associated with holiday spending in recent months, officials judge that underlying sales growth"has stagnated".

Retail sales in February are expected to increase 0.4 percent on the month after January's 1.1 percent gain that was lower than expected and followed December's 2.7 percent slump.

Retail sales measure the total receipts at stores that sell durable and nondurable goods. The Retail Business Survey covers all employing retail trade businesses who predominantly sell to households.

With consumer spending a large part of the economy, market players continually monitor spending patterns. The pattern in consumer spending is often the foremost influence on stock and bond markets. For stocks, strong economic growth translates to healthy corporate profits and higher stock prices. For bonds, the focus is whether economic growth goes overboard and leads to inflation. Ideally, the economy walks that fine line between strong growth and excessive (inflationary) growth.

Retail sales not only give you a sense of the overall picture, but also the trends among different types of retailers. Especially strong apparel or electronics sales can indicate strength in those industries, for example. These trends from the retail sales data can help you spot specific investment opportunities, without having to wait for a company's quarterly or annual report.