RETAIL TRADE – AUSTRALIA

Black Friday sales hit record high

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 29-Nov-23

The Australian Retailers Association recently forecast that consumers will spend $6.36bn across the Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend. Data showing that retail sales fell by a seasonally 0.2 per cent in October suggests that many consumers had delayed their spending in order to take advantage of the increasingly popular four-day sales event. Retailers are also believed to have offered larger Black Friday/Cyber Monday discounts of up to 30 per cent, compared with about 26 per cent in 2022. Meanwhile, the National Retail Association’s director Rob Godwin says Christmas sales will be a "make-or-break" period for many retailers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, NATIONAL RETAIL ASSOCIATION LIMITED

Fake website scams: Grim warning to Black Friday shoppers

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Original article by Chloe Whelan
Herald Sun – Page: Online : 21-Nov-23

Australian shoppers are expected to spend $6.36bn in the Black Friday sales, making it the biggest shopping event on the nation’s retail calendar. However, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s deputy chair Catriona Lowe has warned shoppers to be aware of fake websites that replicate the genuine sites of well-known brands. The products sold on these sites are often fake or simply never arrive. Lowe adds that scammers are now paying for their fake websites to appear at the top of internet search results, so consumers may not be able to trust the first listing they see. Data from the National Anti-Scam Centre shows that there have been 2,760 reports of fake online stores so far in 2023.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, NATIONAL ANTI-SCAM CENTRE

Bunnings, Kmart and Samsung are Most Trusted Brands in Retail and Consumer Products for 2023

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 15-Nov-23

Roy Morgan has presented the annul Roy Morgan Trusted Brand Awards for 2023 in the retail and consumer products industries. Hardware brand Bunnings has had a second consecutive victory as the ‘Most Trusted Retail Brand’ in Australia. The ‘Most Trusted Brand in Department & Discount Department Stores’ has been won by Kmart, also repeating its success of a year earlier. South Korea-based multinational Samsung has recorded its second straight victory in the ‘Most Trusted Consumer Products Brand’ category, while Apple is the ‘Most Trusted Technology Brand’ for a second consecutive year. Australia’s largest supermarket chain Woolworths has triumphed once again as the ‘Most Trusted Supermarket Brand’ as well as the ‘Best of the Best’ Most Trusted Brand in Australia for 2023.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Pro-Palestine business boycott condemned

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 9-Nov-23

The Stand For Palestine group has been criticised for launching a social media campaign urging Australians to boycott local retailers that have tenuous links to Israel. The companies that have been targeted include Chemist Warehouse and Spotlight Group, which were both founded by the offspring of Jewish migrants. Australian entrepreneur Paul Bassat says these businesses are being boycotted simply because they are owned by Jews, while Arnold Bloch Leibler partner Mark Leibler has described the campaign as "pure unadulterated antisemitism".

CORPORATES
CHEMIST WAREHOUSE, SPOTLIGHT GROUP HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Black Friday sales tipped to buck Christmas slowdown trend

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 2-Nov-23

Research by the Australian Retailers Association in partnership with Roy Morgan reveals that shoppers are tipped to spend $6.36bn across the four-day Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend (November 24-27); this is up 3.0% from last year. It is expected that many Australian shoppers will use the sales extravaganza to purchase gifts for Christmas. Broader pre-Christmas spending in 2023 is tipped to edge in line with last year’s results as shoppers increasingly tighten their budgets in the wake of the cost-of-living crisis. Provisional forecasts by the ARA and Roy Morgan suggest that $66.8bn will be spent in the November to December 24 Christmas trading period – broadly in line with last year (up slightly by 0.1% or $74,000).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION

Parties and pumpkins take centre stage for Halloween

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 30-Oct-23

Once considered a children’s event, Halloween is evolving into a beloved Aussie tradition for adults. Research from the Australian Retailers Association in partnership with Roy Morgan shows that 1.3 million Australians will hold or attend Halloween parties without children in 2023. The data underscores Halloween’s multifaceted appeal as both a family-focused occasion and an event for adults. The age group most likely to host or attend Halloween parties are those aged 18-35, with 16% planning to do so. It comes as popularity for Halloween products continues to surge, seeing sales upticks of 25 per cent each year over the past five years – crowning Halloween as the fastest-growing event on the retail calendar. Home decorations remain the most popular Halloween-specific purchase, growing 14 per cent year on year, while supermarkets are set to sell more than one million kilograms of pumpkins for the Halloween rush. Australians are forecast to spend $490m on Halloween in 2023, which is 14 per cent higher than in 2022.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION

A staggering number of people believe they can justify shoplifting

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Original article by Ash Cant
The New Daily – Page: Online : 27-Sep-23

Research from Monash University shows that many Australians believe that shoplifting is acceptable due to the cost-of-living crisis. Some 28 per cent of respondents are of the view that it is fine to take an item from a store without paying for it. However, 93 per cent of consumers aged 55+ said that shoplifting is not at all justifiable, compared with just 47 per cent of those aged 18-34. Meanwhile, 30 per cent of respondents believe it is fine to change the price tags on products. Major supermarket chains have ramped up their anti-theft measures in response to a spike in shoplifting.

CORPORATES
MONASH UNIVERSITY

Halloween hits sweet spot with Aussies – $490 million boost predicted

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Original article by
Australian Retailers Association – Page: Online : 26-Sep-23

Research from the Australian Retailers Association in collaboration with Roy Morgan shows that more than 5.3 million Australians will celebrate Halloween in 2023, an increase of 300,000 year-on-year. Those celebrating Halloween plan to do so in a variety of ways, such as attending or hosting a Halloween-themed party, decorating their homes, getting dressed up and going out, or staying home and welcoming trick or treaters. Total spending on Halloween is forecast to reach $490m, up 14 per cent on 2022; average spending per person is forecast to rise 8.1% to $93. ARA CEO Paul Zahra says the increased spend this year in the face of cost-of-living pressures demonstrates the growing popularity of Halloween in Australia, particularly for adults.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Uniqlo says sorry after uncovering $25 million in underpayments

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Original article by Emma Koehn
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 26-Jul-23

Uniqlo Australia is the latest company to admit that its employees have been underpaid. The Japan-based casual wear retailer has advised that about 7,900 employees had been underpaid $25m in total between 1 July 2015 and 30 June 2022. The underpayment occured due to errors in calculating affected employees’ entitlements, and were identified after a specialist firm undertook a review of Uniqlo’s systems. The company opened its first Australian store in 2014, and it now has more than 30 stores nationwide.

CORPORATES
UNIQLO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Aussies spending $600m less online than a year ago

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Original article by David Swan
The Australian – Page: 15 : 12-Jul-23

Data from Airwallex shows that factors such as cost-of-living pressures and interest rates rises are prompting Australian consumers to shop online less frequently. The company estimates that online spending fell by 1.82 per cent nationwide in the year to June; this equates to a downturn of $523.3m, or $587 per adult. Amelia Hamer of Airwallex says Australians are holding back on their discretionary spending across the digital economy; however, she notes that "bright spots" include the technology, education and travel sectors

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AIRWALLEX PTY LTD