The success of the plastic bag ban announced by Australia’s big two supermarkets will hinge on whether they can persuade customers to change an engrained behaviour - without annoying them.
Online search ads are big business. Retailers have to work hard to compete for visibility in Google’s online searches as the company faces trouble in the European Union over its Shopping site.
The minimum wage is rising in many parts of Canada, but it masks the impact of seismic changes to the agriculture, food and retail industries brought about by new technologies.
As South Africa prepares to introduce a national minimum wage, a new study shows that it will have a varied impact. Some parts of the economy are likely to be negatively affected.
John Rice, University of New England et 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.
New analysis of the behaviour of petrol retailers in Perth over a period of five years shows how tacit collusion caused prices to increase by up to 50%.
Southern African economies need more organised and sustainable measures to increase the participation of emerging suppliers in supermarket value chains. This will help economic transformation.
A mix of economic unease and fears of the growth of online shopping is pushing retailers to offer ever-steeper discounts, but there’s a better strategy to make it through the holidays in the black.
Interim Director, UWA Public Policy Institute; Associate Professor & Programme Co-ordinator (Masters of Public Policy), The University of Western Australia