Message from the CEO: 5 February 2016

Today’s official retail trade figures for December have confirmed the NRA’s predictions of steady and “sensible” spending by Australian consumers in the lead up to Christmas. The figures showed spending during the pre-Christmas period (the final six weeks of the year) reached $44.63bn – only just above our prediction of $44.5bn. Sales in December grew […]

Give the gift of a mentally healthy workplace

As the holiday period approaches, some businesses are preparing for a well-earned break while others are looking ahead to one of their busiest periods of the year.  Whether you’re winding down or cranking up, the coming weeks are an ideal time to thank employees for their efforts over the year, encourage everyone in the workplace […]

Message from the CEO: 27th November 2015

Aussies are spending more than ever before but visiting stores less, according to a snapshot of the country’s retail sector released this week.  The annual Roy Morgan State of the Nation report this year featured a special focus on retail.  It found spending on commodities topped $100 billion for the year to June, with approximately […]

Requesting employees to work on a public holiday

Given the public holidays that are fast approaching, members are reminded of the following matters arising out of section 114 of the Fair Work Act 2009  when requesting employees to work on a public holiday: 1. An employee is entitled to be absent from work on a day or a part-day that is a public […]

Message from the CEO: 6th November 2015

It’s just seven weeks until Christmas, and no doubt you are already well and truly gearing up for what I hope will be a very prosperous time of the year. Yesterday, I released to the media the economic forecasts done by the NRA’s in-house research team, looking at the likely outcomes for the pre-Christmas sales […]

Growing your loyalty campaign this Christmas season

Loyalty campaigns have become a critical way to embrace your great customers and drive sales. This Christmas retailing season is a great time to kick your loyalty campaigns up a gear. No doubt you will experience increased shopping traffic through your bricks and mortar store as well as online stores for those involved in omni-channel […]

Retailer Top Tips – Christmas Period Recruitment Challenges + Solutions

According to Retail Biz online magazine, Australian job seekers started searching for casual Christmas work in August, a month earlier than the historical pattern of searching in late September and peaking in November. With many companies not having listed their Christmas casual roles yet, this is considerably ahead of company recruiting schedules. The economy benefits […]

Preparing for the Christmas Period – Top 5 Tips

In a shock move, banking giant Westpac recently lifted their mortgage rates. The effect on retail sales at this stage is unknown as it is still unclear whether other big banks will follow suit. The impact on consumers will also depend on what the Reserve Bank of Australia will do in relation to interest rates. […]

Pre-Christmas Toy Safety Checks

NSW Fair Trading recently commenced its annual pre-Christmas toy safety checks targeting suburbs and towns across the State. Discount stores and ‘pop-up kiosk’ traders will be a focus with inspections continuing for several weeks. Fair Trading Commissioner Rod Stowe said kiosk traders tend to be direct importers, securing their products via the internet. “They generally […]

Extended Christmas Trading Hours in NSW

In 2014 the NSW Government introduced extended Christmas shopping hours to help give NSW retailers a boost during the vital shopping season. All shops within a business zone will be allowed to open 24 hours a day from 12:00am Friday, 11 December 2015 until 11:59pm Thursday, 24 December, without planning approval for the additional trading […]