‘Experiences’ over ‘things’: Aussies spending more on leisure and entertainment, but less on discretionary commodities

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 25-Nov-16

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that Australians aged 14+ spent almost $A105bn on things in the year to June 2016. Australians purchased around 85.5 million "discretionary commodities" between them, the recently launched State of the Nation Retail Spotlight from Roy Morgan Research reveals. Some 54.7 per cent of Australians bought at least one item of clothing in any given four weeks during 2015-16, ahead of Hardware/Home DIY/Plant and Garden products (22.4%), and Footwear (21.7%). However, compared with the 2014/2015 financial year, expenditure on discretionary commodities is down 2.0%, while expenditure on leisure and entertainment has risen by $A10bn to $A137bn year-on-year.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Fat margin retailers must fear Amazon

Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 24-Nov-16

Roy Morgan Research CEO Michele Levine says Australian retailers with high margins, a large market share and growing online sales will be most vulnerable if Amazon enters the domestic market. Levine, who has presented Roy Morgan’s latest "State of the Nation" report on the retail sector, adds that Aldi and other international grocery chains with physical stores are a greater risk to Coles and Woolworths in the near-term, as most people still do not buy groceries online. Likewise, the low margins of consumer electronics retailers such as JB Hi-Fi means they are less vulnerable to competition from Amazon.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, LIDL GMBH & CO KG, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, BABY BUNTING GROUP LIMITED – ASX BBN, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, DAVID JONES LIMITED, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

Image conscious: how Australians view different department stores

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 24-Nov-16

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 22.6% of Australians aged 14+ (3.6 million people) buy something at Kmart in an average four-week period. The survey, which was carried out in the year to June 2016, also shows that 19.5% of Australians (3.1 million) make a purchase at Target and 18.9% (3 million) shop at Big W in an average four weeks. One common denominator shared by the three stores is the perception that each "has a wide choice of products". Almost 42% of Australians think Target fits this description, 45.1% feel the same way about Kmart and 49.2% think Big W has a wide choice of products. Meanwhile, 10.0% of Australians (or 1.6 million people) making a purchase at Myer in an average four weeks and 4.7% (760,000) buying something at David Jones. The most commonly held perception of these stores is less about low prices and more about quality, which evidently impacts on customer volume.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, DAVID JONES LIMITED

Pumpkin Patch’s demise: a sign of the times

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 3-Nov-16

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 128,000 Australians aged 14+ made at least one purchase at children’s clothing chain Pumpkin Patch in an average four weeks during the year to June 2016, compared with 220,000 in the year to June 2014. Its customer numbers had consistently eclipsed those shopping at Cotton On Kids until the last year, when 133,000 Australians shopped at Cotton On Kids in an average four weeks. Meanwhile, the number of people shopping for children’s clothes at Kmart in an average four weeks has risen from 559,000 to 712,000 since 2014. Pumpkin Patch is not the only kids’-wear retailer to have lost customers in the past few years: Target, Big W and Best & Less have all lost ground.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, PUMPKIN PATCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, COTTON ON KIDS PTY LTD, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, BEST AND LESS PTY LTD, HENNES OCH MAURITZ AB, ZARA, UNIQLO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD

Aldi sees plenty of growth to come

Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 19 & 20 : 2-Nov-16

The Australian market share of German supermarket chain Aldi is currently less than 10 per cent, although local CEO Tom Daunt believes that the group can lift this to 14-15 per cent within the next several years. He also concedes that growth in store numbers across the eastern states will slow in coming years. Daunt stresses that Aldi will maintain its policy of having the lowest grocery prices, while the group intends to refurbish all of its existing east coast stores in order to be competitive in the fresh food segment of the grocery market.

CORPORATES
ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW

Fair Work member brands Coles penalty rates ruling ‘illogical’

Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 14-Oct-16

The decision of the Fair Work Commission’s full bench to uphold the challenge to a Coles workplace agreement by a part-time worker has wider consequences. The Coles decision prompted Woolworths, Bunnings, Target, Domino’s Pizza and other companies to suspend enterprise bargaining talks for fear of their agreements being also challenged. FWC deputy president Peter Sams criticised some aspects of the Coles decision.

CORPORATES
SUPERMARKET AND FOOD STORE SALES, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, CORRS CHAMBERS WESTGARTH, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Supermarket satisfaction: a one-horse race?

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 6-Oct-16

Roy Morgan Research has announced the winners of its Customer Satisfaction Awards for August 2016. Aldi was the top-rating supermarket chain in August, with a customer satisfaction rating of 96 per cent, ahead of Foodland (94 per cent), IGA (92 per cent), Coles (91 per cent) and Woolworths/Safeway (88 per cent). Aldi also had the highest customer satisfaction rating in six out of nine grocery sub-categories (dairy, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, meat, packaged groceries and general merchandise). Of the three remaining sub-categories, Aldi does not have deli and seafood counters.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, FOODLAND AUSTRALIA LIMITED, IGA, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS SUPERMARKETS, AUSTRALIAN SAFEWAY STORES PTY LTD

Woolies finalises hardware sell-off

Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 19 : 4-Oct-16

The hardware division of Metcash will boast sales of $A2.2bn following the completion of a deal to acquire the Home Timber & Hardware business from Woolworths. The expanded division will comprise about 800 retail stores and a hardware wholesaling business. Woolworths is still engaged in legal action with joint venture partner Lowe’s regarding its exit from the ill-fated Masters Home Improvement business.

CORPORATES
METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, HOME TIMBER AND HARDWARE, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, LOWE’S COMPANIES INCORPORATED, MITRE 10 LIMITED, TRUE VALUE HARDWARE LIMITED, THRIFTY-LINK HARDWARE PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

How popular are customer loyalty programs really?

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 28-Sep-16

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 71 per cent of Australians aged 14+ are members of at least one store loyalty program. The survey, which was carried out in the six months to June 2016, also shows that 49 per cent of Australians are members of Woolworths Rewards, ahead of FlyBuys (45 per cent) and MyerOne (21 per cent). Meanwhile, 78.2 per cent of people who shop at Woolworths/Safeway in any given four weeks are members of the Woolworths Rewards program, as are 61.8 per cent of people who shop at Woolworths-owned BWS. Similarly, FlyBuys members comprise a resounding majority of Coles customers (69.2 per cent), as well as over half of all shoppers at FlyBuys partners Liquorland (61.0 per cent), Kmart (54.4 per cent), Target (54.3 per cent) and First Choice Liquor (53.6 per cent).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS REWARDS, FLYBUYS, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, BWS – BEER WINE SPIRITS, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, LIQUORLAND (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FIRST CHOICE LIQUOR SUPERSTORE, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, PRICELINE PTY LTD, MILLERS, DAN MURPHY’S

JB Hi-Fi and The Good Guys: satisfaction guaranteed?

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 20-Sep-16

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that more than three million Australians aged 14+ made at least one purchase from JB Hi-Fi in an average four weeks in the year to June 2016. Over a million made at least one purchase from The Good Guys, while Harvey Norman, attracted nearly 1.3 million customers in the same time period. The survey also shows that JB Hi-Fi customers have a mean household income of $A115,000, compared with $A107,000 for Harvey Norman customers and $A98,000 for The Good Guys customers. Meanwhile, The Good Guys has triumphed in the Furniture/Electrical Store category of the Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards every month this year with scores consistently over 90 per cent, and JB Hi-Fi has been close behind it in second place (also with scores hovering around 90 per cent and above).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, THE GOOD GUYS, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN