High Interest Rates Detering Shoppers

According to the Australia Retailers Association, it is expecting Christmas sales to be around $66.6 billion, which is a 6.4 percent increase from last year. It noted that inflation would not affect retailers’ spending until next year, though it would have a negative impact on their margins.

Economists believe that the Christmas shopper in 2022 will have lower savings due to the money printing that has occurred in the past few years.

Despite the positive effects of the holiday season, they noted that they do not think that retailers will be able to achieve a stronger performance next year.

It would be irresponsible for people to spend their money on luxury items such as cars and expensive clothes when they don’t have enough money to feed themselves.

July’s brick-and-mortar stores were doing well, making up 32 percent of November sales, which is significantly higher than last year’s 10-15 percent. Despite the company’s supply chain issues, it was able to compete with other businesses for production slots.

The cost of shipping containers has returned to around $8,000 to $10,000, which is higher compared to the previous year but still less than before the pandemic.

For those who are planning on spending a lot of money this Christmas season, retailers believe that they prefer to shop in stores instead of online.

E-commerce sales are expected to continue growing, but the Christmas season has turned around.

Online Fitness equipment company Gym Plus has seen increased sales however and hope customers continue to shop online. You can get a discount at Gym Plus with a Gym Plus coupon code.

The rising cost of living has become a major factor that has affected shoppers’ minds. They are also more likely to make a conscious decision when it comes to buying. Meanwhile, retailers have to consider other cost pressures.

Supply chains have been relatively smooth this year, unlike last year. However, the biggest challenge is keeping prices low.

In 2023, retailers are expected to tighten their belts to cope with the rising costs. Layoffs are also possible due to this.

Victorian lockdown ending for retailers

Victorian retailers have hit out at the government for its delay in allowing the outdoor retail sector to reopen.

Pharmacies and general retailers can reopen with limited opening times after the majority of people in Victoria have been fully vaccinated.

There were seven new coronavirus deaths in Victoria on Monday. The vaccine’s 80 per cent target is not expected to be reached until November.

Tim Piper of the Australian Industry Group said the confusion between the rules for hospitality and retail was not clear.

“To expect someone to put something on a footpath is simply not realistic for some people and not helpful for others.”

Paul Zahra, the head of Australia’s retailers association, said most stores would remain closed until the target of 80 per cent double dose was reached.

Non-essential retailers will not be allowed to reopen until next week.

The government defended their approach to ending the lockdown.

Harvey Norman has ruled out the use of outdoor furniture and electrical outlets.

The retail sector has been hit hard by the Lockdown, with August data showing that spending in Victoria fell by a significant amount.

The lord mayor said the council was receiving inquiries about how to set up an outdoor trade area.

When the outdoor dining program was introduced, some of the hospitality businesses were initially not convinced that it would work.

The ultimate goal is that the state achieves the full vaccination rate of 80 per cent, which would allow traders to attract more customers.

For an easier shopping experience many will continue to shop online at popular sites such as ASOS. Use an ASOS promo code to save on your order when you shop online.

Cotton Industry showing resilience

Cotton farming in Australia is a critical industry for the Australian economy and it is expected that this years harvest will be significantly larger than last years. The expected value of the harvest is expected to exceed $1.5 billion. This large increase in production is concerningly on the back of the Chinese import restrictions on the product as part of the greater trade war currently in progress.

Australian cotton farmers have experienced extended periods of drought with the product over the last few years being as low as it has been. In fact, 2020 produced one of the lowest amount of cotton in the history of Australia’s cotton production with only 600,000 bales produced. To put this in perspective, the number of bales produced this year will be in excess of 2.5 million bales. The target number of bales that industry would ideally produce is around 4 million bales.

This year has been good for farmers with better weather conditions allowing farmers to plant cotton on 395 per cent more area than last year, equating to 295,000 hectares.

The China trade war has caused major concerns however fortunately cotton prices are at some of the highest levels seen in recent times meaning Cotton farmers are able to redistribute product to other markets around Asia.

To save on your shop at Cotton On, consider using a Cotton on promo code with your purchase.

Catch is the boom in the gloom

Wesfarmers, owner of Catch Group, has provided a market update on the performance of the group and there were some surprising results that brought surprised the market. Catch was an interesting purchase for the Wesfarmers with many seeing it as a potentially bad purchase considering the they paid $230 million for it.

However, during the Covid pandemic it seems like the purchase has been a good one for Wesfarmers. With the retail sector going through one of the biggest crisis in history, Catch has been a shining light amongst the groom. This success is driven by the consumer behaviour change caused by the Covid pandemic. With retailer stores shut down as well as people avoiding walking into stores, consumers are turning to online shopping to get their fix. Many people that have not shopped online previously are now learning how to do it and are doing it more regularly than ever before. One of the biggest beneficiaries of this behaviour change is Catch especially since they have a complete range of consumer products from homewares to fashion and to grocery. For a great deal at Catch use a Catch coupon for your purchase.

Wesfarmers updated the market to let them know that Catch Group sales rose by nearly 70 per cent during the second half of the 2020 financial year blitzing expectations. Sales are expected to continue to be strong with the ongoing chaos caused by the pandemic.

Australian retailers pressuring suppliers durid Covid 19

The Coronavirus pandemic is hitting retailers in Australia hard with many stores shut and shopping is limited to online stores. These tough times have not just hit the retailers but has had a roll on affect by hitting the suppliers of these stores as well.
Many Australian clothing brands are deciding that will put some of the burden on the suppliers by postponing payments for orders and even cancelling orders due to the virus. There has also been attempts to get discounts worth millions of dollars on orders from suppliers. Many of these suppliers are from Bangladesh and this has caused a lot of pain for the clothing manufacturers and the workers there, mostly women. A delay of payments for these workers will be devastating for them as many are relying on the income to feed their families.
The issue here is that many of these garment makers are some of the lowest paid people in the world and the pressure put on suppliers may jeopardise their income.
Not all clothing stores have been so brutal however with many international brands such as Nike and Uniqlo advising that they will pay for orders in full.
Beginning Boutique have a great range of clothing for sale and using a Beginning Boutique promo code you can get a great deal.