Sluggish January retail sales following December slump

The retail trade figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today revealed that sales for January remained sluggish but were an improvement on the December 2017 slump.  The ABS figures show that retail turnover rose by 0.1 per cent seasonally adjusted in January, following a drop of 0.5 per cent in December last […]

October ABS figures show retail in solid position for Christmas

Today the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released its retail figures for October which show an increase in retail turnover of 0.5 per cent, seasonally adjusted. NRA CEO Dominique Lamb said that the figures show that retail is awakening from its slumber following sluggish results in previous months. “Australian retail had experienced three consecutive months […]

Message from the CEO: 8 August 2017

The retail sector is showing signs of recovery after a relatively flat year. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) trade figures released Thursday have revealed a 0.3 per cent increase in June to $26.15 billion seasonally adjusted. Retail sales have now risen for three consecutive months, with June’s higher than the market expectations of 0.2 per […]

Retail Figures Remain Steady According to ABS Stats for May

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) retail trade figures for May 2017 has shown a steady rise of 0.6% turnover, seasonally adjusted. NRA CEO Dominique Lamb said that while retail was experiencing a quiet period, the industry remains in steady shape and should continue to pick up following the introduction of reduced Sunday Penalty Rates. […]

February Retail Figures Show Narrow Growth

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) retail trade figures for February released today show negligible change from the previous month, indicating that the retail sector is still operating in a challenging environment. According to the ABS, the seasonally adjusted trend estimate fell 0.1 per cent in February. In trend terms, each state experienced a narrow […]

Message from the CEO: 14 February 2017

Dominique Lamb CEO National Retail Association

Last week the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released its retail trade figures for the month of December 2016 and the results demonstrated that the National Retail Association was close to spot-on with its Christmas trade period projection. In November, we forecast that for the Christmas trade period – which encompasses half of November and all […]

ABS: Retail turnover increases in September

Australian Bureau of Statistics

Australian retail turnover rose 0.6 per cent in September 2016, seasonally adjusted, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Retail Trade figures. This follows a rise of 0.5 per cent in August 2016. In seasonally adjusted terms, there were rises in household goods retailing (2.3 per cent), cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services […]

Slight increase in August retail sector

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) retail trade figures released today show a slight increase on the July 2016 figures, but still demonstrate that the sector is experiencing a flat period.  In seasonally adjusted terms, retail turnover rose by 0.4 per cent in August, which follows the stagnant figures recorded for July 2016.  Seasonally adjusted, […]

Message from the CEO: 8 August 2016

Dominique Lamb CEO National Retail Association

Last week saw two lots of major news for the retail sector, and overall it was a mixed bag. Tuesday’s announcement by the Reserve Bank of a cut to official interest was good news at first glance, even though it carried the underlying warning from the RBA of weakness in the economy. We know that […]

Youth unemployment and the retail industry

Throughout the current federal election there has been a consistent focus on jobs creation, and how more Australians can be assisted into the workforce. As part of this discussion, there has been a particular emphasis on jobs for young people, and what initiatives will best address the current issue of youth unemployment across Australia. The […]

Blind Hiring – Is your company unconsciously biased when hiring?

Research has identified that organisations are unconsciously discriminating against gender types in the initial stages of hiring employees. In traditional corporate management roles, men are more likely to be hired than women. Whereas in nursing, men are less likely to be considered for the role over women as the role is considered feminine. Although discrimination is […]

MEMBER ONLY ARTICLE – Soft retail sales continue in April

Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) this week indicates that the soft retail sales that have been recorded since the beginning of 2016 have continued into the final quarter of 2015/16. The recorded growth of 0.2 per cent, seasonally adjusted, is below the figure forecast by the National Retail Association last month, […]

Managing Mental Health in Your Workplace

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2007), one in five Australian adults will experience a mental illness in any given year. With common conditions like depression and anxiety becoming more prevalent in the workplace, businesses are being urged to consider how they manage mental health issues amongst their employees. Besides adhering to the legal […]

Retail sales flat in February, but some categories shine

The recent release of the February 2016 retail trade figures by the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed flat growth in retail sales, although strong performance is still being recorded in some key divisions of household goods and clothing. As indicated in the graph below, the sector grew by 3.7 per cent nationally in trend terms, […]

Message from the CEO: 8 April 2016

This week’s Australian Bureau of Statistics results for February showed a continuation of the longer term growth in our sector we have been witnessing for some time now. The headline figures were no doubt disappointing – showing effectively no change from January’s results. However, the annualised growth rates showed a 3.7 per cent increase compared […]