Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures revealed that retail sales volume fell a record 4.4 percent in the September quarter, after Australia’s two biggest state economies went into lockdown. “The Delta outbreak from late June led to protracted lockdowns in many mainland jurisdictions, with the restrictions causing many retailers to close their physical stores throughout the September quarter,” said ABS director of quarterly economy-wide statistics Ben James on Nov. 4. “This resulted in the largest quarterly fall in national sales volumes ever recorded.” Sales volumes fell significantly in food and takeaway services (18.7 percent), department stores (19.5 percent), and footwear and personal accessory retail (25 percent). By contrast, online retail went up 0.9 percent over the quarter. September recorded the highest level of monthly online retail sales at $4.3 billion, breaking the record set in the previous month by 3.4 percent, or $143 million. New South Wales (NSW) experienced the …