RETAIL TRADE – AUSTRALIA

Roy Morgan forecasts Australian Retail Sales to hit $40 billion a month for the first time in August

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 19-Aug-26

New forecasts from Roy Morgan shows that monthly Australian Retail Sales are set to reach $40 billion in August, up 6% on a year ago. The three categories driving growth are Household Goods (forecast to grow 8.8% to almost $6.7 billion), Hospitality (set to grow 6.2% to over $5.9 billion) and Other Retailing (projected to grow 7.5% to over $7 billion). The Clothing category is forecast to grow 5.7% to over $3 billion, while the slowest growth is predicted for Department Stores, up 2.3% to $1.66 billion. The largest category is Food with expected sales of over $15.6 billion in August, up 4.6% on a year ago and representing 39% of all forecast retail sales in August. The fastest retail sales growth by State is set to be in Western Australia with an increase of 7.2% on a year ago to total retail sales of over $4.8 billion in August, just ahead of South Australia, up 6.4% to over $2.6 billion.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Wary shoppers dent Myer outlook

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Original article by Carrie LaFrenz, Sam Irvine
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 17 : 28-Jul-26

Department store chain Myer announced on Monday that it expects sales for the last financial year to come in flat at around $4 billion, due to reducing spending on beauty products and its clothing brands. Myer executive chairwoman Olivia Wirth said its trade had been volatile over the past few months, with sales jumping in May but slumping in June and July six months, while she expects retailers to start their Christmas promotions and Black Friday sales earlier this year; Myer is due to hand down its full-year results in September

CORPORATES
MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR

End of Financial Year (EOFY) sales spending growth stalls as households tighten budgets

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 16-Jun-26

End of Financial Year sales remain one of Australia’s most significant retail events; however, EOFY spending is forecast to grow by just 1.9 per cent this year – well below inflation. The research from the Australian Retail Council and Roy Morgan shows that around 6.1 million Australians (26%) plan to shop during EOFY sales this year, with total spending expected to reach $10.7bn. The most popular categories this year are clothing, footwear and accessories (34%), household appliances and white goods (15%), and electronics and technology products (12%). Australians aged 35 to 49 are expected to spend an average of $1,464 during the EOFY sales, compared with $1,946 for Australians aged under 35 and $1,993 for those aged 50 to 64. Despite participation remaining steady, around three million Australians who spent during last year’s EOFY sales do not currently plan to participate in 2026. This ARC-Roy Morgan Snap SMS survey was conducted with a nationwide cross-section of 5,276 Australians aged 14+ from 28 May to 1 June.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN RETAIL COUNCIL

Top end of town turns to bargain brand Anko

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Original article by Carrie LaFrenz
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 6-May-26

Wesfarmers-owned Kmart now sells more than one billion Anko-branded items in Australia each year. Wesfarmers CEO Rob Scott has told the Macquarie Australia Conference that more affluent consumers are now buying Anko products, and they are increasingly trusting the quality of the home-brand range. Scott added that Kmart’s new marketplace is "performing exceptionally" and offers more than 100,000 products. Scott noted that any additional increases in official interest rates are likely to put pressure on household budgets, although he says Wesfarmers’ core retailing businesses will perform well in such an environment.

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Woolies flags higher prices, profit squeeze

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Original article by Carrie LaFrenz
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 18 : 1-May-26

Woolworths has advised that its supermarket division’s sales rose by 5.9 per cent to $13.8bn in the third quarter of 2025-26. Group sales were up 4.5 per cent to about $18bn for the 13 weeks to 5 April. CEO Amanda Bardwell says the Iran war did not affect shelf prices during the quarter, but she has warned that growing pressure from suppliers is likely to result in higher prices for some grocery products in the final quarter. She adds that fresh foods such as fruit, vegetables, milk and bread are most vulnerable to price increases, due to the impact of rising fuel and fertiliser costs on farmers. Coles will release its third-quarter results today.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL

Seismic 40pc pay ruling set to reshape teen jobs

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 1-Apr-26

Coles, Woolworths and McDonald’s are expected to be amongst the large companies that will be affected by the Fair Work Commission’s decision to abolish junior pay rates for young adults. The landmark ruling will apply to more than 500,000 employees aged 18-20 across the fast food, retail and pharmacy sectors; they will be progressively shifted to adult wages over the four years from December, resulting in them receiving pay rises of up to 42 per cent. The Shop, Distributive & Allied Employees’ Association has likened the decision to the awarding of equal pay for women in the 1970s. However, the Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s CEO Andrew McKellar warns that employers in the affected sectors are likely to hire staff who are older and have more experience.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, McDONALD’S AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Temu and Shein still the headline disruptors in 2025

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 18-Mar-26

New data from Roy Morgan shows that established mass retailers Bunnings, Kmart and Big W remain dominant and stable in 2025, with modest growth in shopper numbers year-on-year (2% for Bunnings, 3% for Kmart and 1% for Big W). Meanwhile, online marketplaces Temu, Shein and Amazon have registered strong shopper gains; Temu had 5 million Australian shoppers in 2025 (17% growth year-on-year), Shein had 2.9 million Australian shoppers (up 28%) and Amazon gained 500,000 shoppers (up 6%). In contrast, legacy online retailers like eBay and Kogan, as well as major department stores Myer and David Jones, are losing shoppers as they struggle to compete with value-focused retailers and online marketplaces, reflecting shifting consumer preferences toward lower prices and more convenient shopping experiences. Roy Morgan estimates that Amazon, Temu, and Shein collectively generated close to $12 billion in retail sales in 2025, reflecting an increase of over $2 billion compared to 2024.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED,BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED,KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED,BIG W DISCOUNT STORES,TEMU,SHEIN,AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED,EBAY AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND PTY LTD,KOGAN.COM LIMITED – ASX KGN,MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR,DAVID JONES LIMITED

Coles concedes mistake in discounting item to make it more expensive after a week

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Original article by Elias Visontay
The Age – Page: Online : 18-Feb-26

The Federal Court has been told that consumers understand that grocery prices will change in a high-inflation environment. Coles Group’s lead barrister John Sheahan addressed the court on the second day of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s case against the supermarket giant over alleged ‘sham’ price discounts. He contended that shelf tickets with a ‘was/is’ price are a legitimate sign of "good value today" for a specific product, and that the ‘Down, Down’ campaign was a broader indication that Coles was trying to keep prices low rather than advertising a specific discount. Sheahan also said Coles has acknowledged that one of the products that attracted the ACCC’s scrutiny should not have beeen added to the ‘Down, Down’ promotion only a week after a large price rise.

CORPORATES
COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Australians to turn out in force for Boxing Day

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 24-Dec-25

Data from the Australian Retailers Association and Roy Morgan shows that consumers are forecast to spend about $1.6bn nationally on Boxing Day, a year-on-year increase of 4.3 per cent. Amongst other things, consumers are forecast to spend $476m on household goods on Boxing Day (up 4.4 per cent), and $216m on clothing, footwear and accessories (up 1.9 per cent); ‘Other retailing’ is also set for strong growth, rising 6.3 per cent to $221m. Spending in the full post-Christmas week (25-31 December) is forecast to reach $3.832 billion, up 4.4 per cent on last year; Boxing Day sales are expected to account for the largest share of this total, supported by strong demand for value, post-Christmas discounts and the redemption of Christmas gift cards.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Australia’s Most Trusted and Distrusted Brands + The Retail Landscape – Webinar Invitation

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 12-Nov-25

Join Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine at 11:00am on 28 November to discover Australia’s most Trusted and Distrusted brands; how traditional retail brands are being impacted by Temu, Shein, and AliExpress; how the dramatic shift to low prices is affecting discount department stores like Kmart and Big W; whether Amazon has finally become the digital category killer, impacting Myer, JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman; whether Coles and Woolworths are finally showing real signs of reputational recovery; and whether the retail sector seeing a rise in distrust amid all the upheaval. Register now and we will send you a link immediately prior to the start of the webinar.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED