It has been a difficult time for the Australian retail industry and, ultimately, ASX retail shares over the past few months.

The closure of retail stores has hit bricks and mortar retailers hard with store foot traffic coming to an almost grinding halt.

Many people have temporarily lost their jobs due to the coronavirus lockdown restrictions. This has dramatically reduced consumer confidence, leading to a further slow in sales.

However, consumers are now beginning to feel a bit more optimistic, as lockdown restrictions begin to ease.

Retail stores are now opening and this has breathed more enthusiasm into the Australian retail industry. This has led to strong recent share price gains for ASX retail giants after many were heavily sold off.

Here are 3 ASX retail shares that have seen strong share price growth over the past two weeks.

Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1)

Accent Group is the footwear group behind store brands such as Hype DC and Platypus.

It has an impressive share price rise of 25.5% over the past two weeks.

The Group had previously announced plans to progressively reopen all its stores by early May.

Although it has suffered a significant loss of trade due to store closures during the pandemic, its online sales have surged.

In fact, online sales soared by nearly 350% during the last two weeks of April. Also, during April, stores were progressively opened to enable a click and collect service for customers, further boosting sales.

With lockdown restrictions now easing, and instore foot traffic looking to pick up soon, this could provide a further boost to sales in the months ahead.

I believe that this is a significant reason why investors have been buying Accent Group’s retail shares in recent weeks.

Baby Bunting Group Ltd (ASX: BBN)

The Baby Bunting share price has surged around 29.3% over the past two weeks, driven in a large way by a very positive business update on 19 May.

All its stores were able to remain open during the harsh coronavirus pandemic restrictions as its products are seen to provide an essential community service. Therefore, physical store sales were not hit as badly as many of the discretionary retailers.

Like the Accent Group, online sales have been a recent winner for Baby Bunting.

The company revealed that online sales for the period between 30 December 2019 and 17 May 2020, surged by a massive 66%.

Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN)

As purely an online retailer, Kogan hasn’t had to deal with the issues faced by bricks and mortar retailers during the coronavirus crisis.

In fact, Kogan has seen a recent surge in online sales. Sales grew by more than 100% during the months of April.

Profits were even more impressive during April, with gross profit growing by more than 150%.

Consumers have been gravitating towards the online channel during the lockdown. This trend has helped to drive its retail share price higher over the past few months.

More reading

• 5 ASX 200 winners and 3 losers from last week
• 4 strong ASX mid cap shares to buy with $4,000
• 10 top ASX growth shares to buy in June for strong returns
• Why Afterpay, Austal, Kogan, & Northern Star shares are charging higher
• 10 quality ASX shares to buy in June

Motley Fool contributor Phil Harpur owns shares of Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Accent Group. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Over the past week, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) rose 4.7%, making it one of the best weeks of the calendar year so far. There were several double-digit ASX 200 winners last week.

The market was led early in the week by optimism about the loosening of pandemic restrictions. ASX travel and tourism shares led early in the week. The major ASX bank shares led throughout the week with some minor profit-taking on Friday.

This is against a backdrop of continuing international tensions and warnings that Western Australia is headed into a recession. Unrest in Hong Kong likely worked to weigh the market down towards the end of the week.

5 ASX 200 winners

Overall, the market started to price in a return to normalcy across several sectors. While still fragile, I believe this trend is likely to continue over the coming weeks. Albeit with a few minor stumbles along the way.

Mid-cap ASX bank share Virgin Money UK (ASX: VUK) was one of the largest ASX 200 winners last week. The company’s share price rose by 20.73% across the week from Monday’s open, carried upwards by the rally in ASX banking shares across the board. Of the banking majors, the Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ) share price rose the most at 16.17%. 

The Austal Limited (ASX: ASB) share price rose by 19.29% over the week. The shipbuilder announced on Friday that it was increasing its full-year earnings guidance. Austal is still trading below its 10-year average price-to-earnings ratio.

The Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) share price rose by 15.42% this week. Across the month of May, the Kogan share price shot up by an impressive 40.55%. On 15 May, the company announced it had purchased furniture outlet Matt Blatt. 

Finally, the Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price rose by 13.74% over the course of the week. Over May, the company’s share price has jumped by 19.02%.

ASX decliners

Unlike the ASX 200 winners, large scale decliners were not common. The market appeared to decline generally across Thursday and Friday in response to global tensions. 

One of the few ASX shares to decline by double figures was Freedom Foods Group Ltd (ASX: FNP). The company’s share price fell by 11.64% from Monday’s open, predominantly on Friday. This was in response to an announcement of falls across its revenue channels during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited (ASX: SAR) fell by 7.43% over the week, likely due to profit-taking in the gold mining sector. Falls in the AUD gold price have been due to the rising Australian dollar. The US gold price remains at near record-high levels. 

Healthcare giant and the ASX’s reigning largest company, CSL Limited (ASX: CSL), saw its share price fall by 6.74% from Monday’s opening price. With a very well-received presentation on future strategic direction, the company slumped on profit-taking on Thursday and Friday.

More reading

• 3 top ASX dividend shares to buy now
• 3 ASX 200 shares to watch this week
• Is the Woolworths share price cheap today?
• Why these ASX retail shares surged over 25% in the past 2 weeks
• Why ASX iron ore miners may outperform this morning

Daryl Mather owns shares of Austal Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Austal Limited and CSL Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel Group Limited and Freedom Foods Group Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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