As the countdown to Christmas enters the final stretch we hope that the festive season is bringing plenty of cheer to you and your business. With school holidays now in full swing there should be plenty of foot traffic across shopping precincts nationwide.
Last week the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released its trade figures for the month of October and the news was pretty underwhelming, with no increase in turnover seasonally adjusted.
Although the figures represent further evidence of the tough year that retail has experienced, the signs are that the low consumer spending we’ve seen throughout 2019 has not transitioned to the Christmas period.
As I’ve discussed in the column in recent weeks, the Black Friday to Cyber Monday four-day sales period was exceptionally busy. There was a noticeable pickup in activity ranging from shopping centres to online sales, with many shoppers cashing in on the bargain deals on offer. Hopefully the momentum gained during the Black Friday sales has been maintained across the sector.
In other exciting news, the Queensland Government has officially announced that it will bid for the 2032 Olympics. While this is obviously a long way off, should the Olympics come to the Sunshine State it would provide a windfall for retail businesses and jobs across South East Queensland.
Economic analysis shows the majority of the 129,000 new jobs to flow from the Games would be in the retail and hospitality sectors, along with construction. This would be great for Queensland and would provide a massive injection to the broader Australian economy via the influx of tourists. It’s an initiative that the NRA supports and we encourage all businesses to get behind the bid.
All the best for the week ahead!