Impulse purchases increasing profits

Since the 1950’s, shoppers around the globe have succumbed to impulse buying and point of purchase displays. Impulse purchases can drastically increase your profits and shouldn’t simply be an afterthought. How do you get the most out of your impulse offerings? Choose the right products Draw attention with promotions Encourage purchases with strategic placement Use […]

Free returns lure new customers

Online fashion retail giant ASOS is going from strength to strength with sales surging in recent months and the company is only getting started. ASOS recently announced that shoppers will be able to return products free of charge. Working with Temando and Australia Post, customers were previously able to return goods for a fee. ParcelPoint […]

MEMBER ONLY ARTICLE – Small retail businesses under review in Victoria

The Victorian State Government has commenced its small business regulation review to help identify barriers that are hindering growth and sustainability across the state. The review will be led by the Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources, with a goal to reducing red tape and the regulatory burden on small businesses. Small businesses […]

Online retailers expanding into offline stores

Every man and their dog seems to have an online business these days with brands abandoning bricks and mortar’s hefty overheads. However 4 pure play (online only) retailers have done the opposite and expanded their online offering offline. Although online retail is booming, it is still only a small percentage of total retail sales worldwide. […]

Are you hiring for the Omni-channel environment?

Recruiting in the retail landscape is vastly different from BI (before internet) days. When considering taking on new employees, retailers must evaluate the technological capabilities of a candidate as well as their ability to deliver a great customer experience. Customer experience has extended from in-store sales service to online customer relations including social media. Every […]

Register for the Victorian Small Business Review

Over the next two years, the Victorian Government will examine how regulation is impacting the state’s small businesses in three sectors of the state’s economy, first focusing on Victoria’s retail sector. The Victorian Government is looking at what they can do to cut regulatory burdens for small retail businesses. They want to know what specific […]

A Message from the CEO: 1 August 2016

Dominique Lamb CEO National Retail Association

The NRA’s primary goal is to give our members the support and expert advice you need to see your business prosper and grow. And that’s why we have a range of in-house expertise in human resource management, trading hours, product compliance, training, leasing and a number of other areas. As a secondary goal, however, we […]

Tips and strategies to develop improved learning materials

Given that much of the training that occurs in Retail is non-accredited and takes place on the job, employers and workplace trainers are constantly developing new resources and learning material to use with employees. We found an excellent resource that we wanted to share with members, a Universal Design Checklist, which is a tool to […]

TV personality to MC Rewards for Excellence Gala Dinner

The NRA’s Rewards for Excellence Gala Dinner is fast approaching … And what a night it is going to be! Finalists across 13 award categories have been announced and the Young Retailer of the Year Finalists are preparing for their interviews with the judges. The extravagant Rio theme and styling is set to impress and […]

Australia’s Retail Assets Attract Investors

Retail is hot property. Almost $10 billion worth of Australian retail assets was bought in the last financial year, a 40 per cent rise from the previous five-year average, according to Savills Australia’s latest research. Australia’s retail property is highly sought after due to strong population and housing growth. “Foreign investors continue to play a […]

The Digital Disconnect: how to match online convenience in the store

Online retailing has been a great addition to the retail landscape but the convenience that it offers is something that physical stores are now needing to mimic. There is no denying that online shopping has really transformed retail and many household shopping habits. The biggest advantage of online shopping is clearly convenience. Shopping when you […]

A Message from the CEO: 25 July 2016

Dominique Lamb CEO National Retail Association

The National Retail Association (NRA) welcomes the reappointment of Senator Michaelia Cash as the Minister for Employment in the re-elected Turnbull Government. We view this as a very clear signal that the Government intends to pursue the industrial relations agenda for which it received a mandate at the election. We’ve mentioned previously the importance of […]

Try before you hire

It’s the time of year when many businesses start their Christmas casual recruitment and the National Retail Association (NRA) would like to offer you a way to “ try” potential employees before you hire them. There is no cost to you and minimal paperwork to complete. There may even be financial incentives for you, if […]

Jobs for cash…Is it legal?

As an employer there is a lot of grey area when paying employees and whether paying in cash is legal. Surprisingly too many, employers who pay employees wages through cash is actually a legal practice in Australia, however, there are requirements that must be met. The term ‘cash-in-hand’ is however considered illegal as this phrase […]

Top five insider secrets revealed

The retail industry is fast paced and competitive, with many businesses keeping tips and tricks to themselves to get the upper hand. So when insiders share their knowledge and wisdom it’s important to listen with an open mind. Mentors are valuable to any business, whether you are a start-up or large corporation, there is always […]

Google’s Android Pay launched in Australia

Not one to be outdone by Apple, technology giant Google has launched Android Pay in Australia. Google’s contactless smartphone payment system is similar to the Apple Pay system released in Australia eight months ago. Using the same basic technology and similar security as Apple, Google’s Android Pay stands out as the more inclusive payment system […]

Online sales resources for SME’s

Selling online sounds easy enough. Buy a domain, set up a website and watch the sales role in without the overhead of a bricks and mortar shop. Unfortunately it’s not as easy as 3 simple steps. Before setting up shop online you must consider the following:– Products and services offerings– Omni-channel retailing– Selling directing or […]

Member Testimonial – Nextra Mona Vale

Nextra Mona Vale Newsagency first decided to join the National Retail Association (NRA) when the Nextra head office brought in a staff member from the NRA to explain member benefits. Immediately our business saw the value in such membership and the opportunity to be represented by retail specialists. That was 13 years ago and I […]

Use Omnichannel Retailing to Increase Your Market Share

Black Fridays, personalised emails, and digital apps – fully three-quarters of retail sales growth occur through online channels, according to a 2015 report by pwc. As well as 8% of actual retail sales can be attributed to online mediums, mentioned in the same report. These form important reasons for retailers to a myriad of strategiesto […]

H&M taking over regional Australia

Regional Australia will soon be home to the Swedish fashion house H&M, with the company showing no signs of slowing down its’ Aussie takeover. Since entering the market H&M have opened 10 stores in major cities like Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. The mega-chain is to open stores in Wollongong and Toowoomba by the end of […]