According to a recent report commissioned by Quantium, 81% of all online spending in Australia is domestic. Year-on-year (YoY) growth rates for online spending is currently at 16.9% and this greatly outstrips the growth in international online sales which is only 0.9% YoY. A key factor behind this has been the depreciation of the Australian […]
The Federal Government’s proposed industrial relations changes go before the Senate this week – the culmination of a long-running (and distracting) national debate which has included the double dissolution election in July. Unrest on building sites may seem a long way from the issues that affect NRA members and other retailers, but the impact of […]
Australians spent a total of $20.1 billion in online retail shopping in the 12 months to June 2016, according to a new report commissioned by data analysts Quantium. This total is still well below the amount spent on traditional bricks and mortar retail, which came in at $296.9 billion for June 2015 to May 2016. […]
Jobs Queensland has been established by the Queensland Government to provide strategic advice to the Government on future skills requirements, workforce planning and development issues and the apprenticeship and traineeship system in Queensland. There have been numerous reviews and reports into apprenticeships and traineeships, and agreement is that the apprenticeship and traineeship model – that […]
First the good news. I declare this column a US election-free zone. There’s plenty of speculation about what it all means for Australia and our economy. I’ll leave that to the “experts”. Much closer to home and, I think, far more relevant to NRA members is the research released by the Commonwealth Bank on Friday, […]
GOLD COAST – SIR20212 Certificate in Retail Services September 2016 intake The NRA Retail Training Centre is delighted to announce that the latest cohort of students on the Gold Coast have received positive results with immediate job outcomes for more than half of the graduates. The NRA, Coles Supermarkets and Help Enterprises have just completed one […]
Accessorial liability provisions have been used by the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) to secure substantial penalties across the chain of command of frozen yoghurt franchise, Yogurberry, for underpaying four overseas workers. Under s 550 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act) accessorial liability means that a person who is involved in a contravention […]
The National Retail Association has notched up another win on the Christmas trade front with the West Australian Government extending retail trading hours in Perth over the Christmas/New Year period. The ruling will allow general retail shops in the Perth Metropolitan area to trade from 7am to 9pm Monday to Friday, from 7am to 6pm […]
MEDIA RELEASE New research revealed in the Commonwealth Bank’s Retail insights report should act as a wakeup call for retailers when developing pricing strategies, particularly as the industry heads into the busy Christmas and New Year period. The report demonstrates that there is no one-size-fits all approach when it comes to pricing strategies for retailers. […]
Last week, Brian Walker, CEO & Founder of Retail Doctor Group, met with Luke Parish, this year’s runner up for the National Retail Association’s Young Retailer of the Year. Luke is the Area Manager for Boating Camping Fishing Ltd (BCF) in NSW West, and his submission in the 2016 Young Retailer of the Year competition impressed the […]
Christmas & Australian Consumer Law Obligations As consumers start their Christmas shopping early, the National Retail Association are reminding retail businesses to revise and align their exchange, return and refund policies to meet the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission standards. The ACCC Commissioner, Sarah Court, reported that many clothing retailers have been displaying “No Refunds” […]
Over the last 12 months, the NRA has delivered training to over 200 jobseekers through the Skilling Queenslanders for Work program, and we are very pleased to report that almost 50% of these people have found employment in retail. Recently we asked for expressions of interest in hiring trainees from our members, and were overwhelmed […]
MEDIA RELEASE With 50 shopping days until Christmas, the National Retail Association (NRA) has today released its pre-Christmas and Boxing day trade projections which show that Australians are poised to spend more than a billion dollars a day during the busiest trading period for the year. The pre-Christmas and Boxing Day trade period runs from […]
Low levels of literacy and numeracy does not mean that an individual is not capable of reading or completing workplace tasks. Rather it means the reading and numeracy tasks of their job role may, on occasion, be beyond their existing skill level and they may need some additional time and assistance. At various points in […]
As you know, the NRA speaks up on a range of issues that affect not only members and other retailers, but also their employees and the entire retail sector. And while we’ve had a lot of success in recent years bringing major issues to the attention of government, sometimes you do question whether anyone is […]
The Fair Work Ombudsman, Natalie James, is putting all retailers on notice when it comes to neglecting labour supply chains. James says that “a company that cares about its reputation and recognises the growing value of that reputation in a competitive market place must take an interest in what’s going on in its labour supply […]
According to the latest report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) for retail trade in July 2016, retail trade figures have continued the flat trend that they finished the 2015-16 financial year with. Seasonally adjusted, retail turnover for July 2016 remained more or less unchanged at 0.0 per cent, which follows a rise of […]
NATIONWIDE A new FREE-TO-AIR TV program called The Franchise Show, will launch Australia-wide on Channel 7, this Sunday 2 October. Hosted by finance commentator and consumer advocate Effie Zahos, the weekly half-hour program will explore the positives, the pitfalls, and the personalities behind the growing franchising sector in Australia. “Franchising is a fundamental cornerstone of Australia’s economy, and has […]
The NRA has this week led a delegation to meet with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison, Employment Minister Michaelia Cash, and Queensland Senator James McGrath, to discuss the Coalition’s second term agenda, and to further expand on ways to reduce regulatory burdens which reduce business profitability, and in turn, the industry’s ability […]
Mobile commerce (mcommerce) is continuing to grow and if your business isn’t offering mobile payment options you could be missing out. Mobile commerce relates to the use of wireless handheld devices such as mobile phones and tablets to perform transactions. This includes everyday banking, consumer purchases, money transfers, mobile ticketing, mobile vouchers, and even information […]