John Rice, University of New England and Nigel Martin, Australian National University
For consumers of Australia’s retail sector, choice and convenience will continue to emerge. For incumbents unable to deliver on these outcomes, the future is bleak.
Battling the discounters with Sushi bars.
EPA/ANDY RAIN
While some pundits claim the much-hyped shopping day that follows our Thanksgiving feasts has lost its relevance, the reality is a lot more complicated, as four important facts show.
Are penalty rates no longer relevant in the retail industry — and do they cost jobs? Recent research compared two neighbouring states where one raised rates to the other’s level to find the answer.
When a High Street stalwart falls by the wayside, don’t rush to mourn the slow death of town centre shopping.
The Retail Council has said their research shows a significant proportion of retail workers were willing to work “the purported anti-social hours”.
AAP Image/Paul Miller
Are we all hitting the shops on Sundays in record numbers or are shopping precincts reduced to ghost towns on the weekends due to penalty rates? It seems employer groups want it both ways – and penalty rates cut.
The smiling face of the person serving you is an important part of the retail experience that makes customers want to come back for more.
Shutterstock/Ikonoklast Fotografie
A more likely reason for businesses’ current interest in happiness and wellbeing has to do with cold hard economics and shifts in the labour force. Happiness, in short, is good for business.
Coles has admitted it acted unconscionably towards suppliers, and a new code of conduct may not be enough to clean up the industry.
Julian Smith/AAP
Coles and Woolworths spent much of 2014 defending their behaviour in court. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) brought several actions against one or both of them throughout the…
Apple is considered a leader in designing “experience” stores. Some of their retail outlets in Manhattan have become tourist destinations.
Shutterstock
Department stores and other brick-and-mortar retailers registered another lackluster holiday shopping season, while online sales have remained upbeat since Cyber Monday. As more consumers spend a larger…
“In a dance as old as time”: Bristol shoppers get ready for some 1950s bargains.
Paul Townsend
Christmas is never plain sailing. It’s tough on consumers trying to work out how much food to buy and how to get their hands on the latest must-have toy for children, and it’s tough for retailers trying…
Christmas is unlikely to come early this year for retailers as consumers bunker down and pay off household debt.
Dan Himbrechts/AAP
Treasurer Joe Hockey called on shoppers this week to “not let Santa down” and asked them to spend up big at the stores this Christmas. Unfortunately, the latest retail and consumer confidence data indicate…
Do online shop staff do online shopping while at work in their online shopping warehouse?
Jakub Kaczmarczyk/EPA
On Friday we witnessed images reminiscent of the London Riots from a few years ago. People with a crazed look in their eyes descended on shopping malls to plunder their contents. They fought with others…