What savvy consumers want from a retail experience

consumer retail experience

By Amy Roche – Retail Rockstars There is no doubt that online shopping has changed the face of retail forever. However, customers still want retail experience, and they crave personalisation, education, entertainment and enlightenment. At its core, online shopping offers 24-hour service with competitive and comparative pricing – something our stores cannot always deliver on. However, there is […]

Biome shares their experience winning 2017 Social Responsibility Champion

The National Retail Awards are held every year to acknowledge and honour the many outstanding individuals and businesses in the retail sector. In 2017, the Social Responsibility Champion was one of our most popular categories. This Award recognises the commitment of a retailer to positive corporate citizenship. This may include improving environmental awareness, sustainability, gender equity, community involvement, […]

Free Crime Update Workshop for Brisbane retailers

All members of the NRA SafeCity Network are invited to come along to the next Retail Crime Update meetings. In this one-hour meeting, the NRA will provide an update on current crime trends occurring in the Brisbane area and invite all retailers to share their experiences of the crime affecting their business. This is a unique opportunity to hear […]

QLD and WA retailers prepare for plastic bag ban

The countdown is underway for Queensland retailers before they are forced to permanently bin the plastic bag ahead of bans that will take effect on July 1 2018. The National Retail Association (NRA) will be touring local shopping precincts to provide advice for retailers preparing for the impending ban on all single-use, lightweight shopping bags. […]

Retailers reject union boss’s demands that would cripple small business

The National Retail Association (NRA) has today rejected the policy package outlined by ACTU secretary Sally McManus at the National Press Club today, saying it would cripple small business. In her address, Ms. McManus took specific aim at employers hiring casual workers and attacked the independent Fair Work Commission (FWC). NRA CEO Dominique Lamb said […]

What is the future of Loss Prevention?

Our very own CEO, Dominique Lamb, joins a panel of experts in this OnDemand webinar on The Future of Loss Prevention. This is a key topic of interest for all retailers across industries at the moment, partly due to the Global Retail Theft Barometer’s recent stats on how retail shrinkage is on the rise due […]

Retailers back campaign to cut company tax

The National Retail Association (NRA) has today urged Senate crossbenchers to support the federal government’s push to cut company tax, predicting the move would spark an increase in entry-level employment for young people. Legislation is currently before the Senate that seeks to reduce the rate of tax paid by all corporations from 30 per cent […]

NRA’s Jo Maxwell steps into new role as National Relationship Manager

Jo Maxwell’s a born and bred retailer, and often jokes about racing home from school when she was as young as seven to hang out in a family friend’s corner store, and learn the tricks of the trade. Fast forward a few decades, and those old-fashioned customer service and people skills are still evident in […]

Retailers and landlords welcome ACCC authorisation of framework for retail innovation, activation

The Shopping Centre Council of Australia (SCCA) and the National Retail Association (NRA) have welcomed today’s determination by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to re-authorise the Casual Mall Licensing Code of Practice. The Code, which provides for the balanced and consistent management of casual mall licensing in shopping centres, was first authorised by […]

Future trends in “bricks and mortar” retail

Written by Collin Freeman, Space Planning Concepts Retail is constantly changing and evolving.  The challenge for retailers is to try and anticipate how to deal with these changes, and building in factors that could make allowances. Retail businesses can use various channels to deliver products and services to the end customer. The big question is, what […]

RETAILERS IN FOR A $48bil, PRE-CHRISTMAS WINDFALL

The National Retail Association (NRA) has today predicted consumers are on track to drop a hefty $48 billion on festive cheer, during the busiest time of year for the nation’s retailers.  NRA CEO Dominique Lamb said despite sluggish retail spending, Aussie retailers will be run off their feet from next week through to December 31. […]

The crackdown on retailers and restaurants has begun

Retailers and restaurants targeted for underpayments and false records with massive fines Written by Sid Sidhu and Justine Ansell, NRA Legal The crackdown on retailers, fast food stores and restaurants avoiding their obligations has well and truly begun. As predicted, the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has increased its auditing activity and successfully obtained significant fines […]

New shipping ‘club’ launching today, a welcome move for retailers

The National Retail Association (NRA) has today welcomed the arrival of Australia Post’s new shipping membership program, Shipster, as a crucial move toward helping Australian businesses keep up with a rapidly-changing consumer market. NRA CEO Dominique Lamb said while innovative retailers were constantly changing up their business models to keep step with consumer demand and […]

Message from the CEO: 22 August 2017

As mentioned in the last edition of NRR, the NRA has announced its finalists for the 2017 National Retail Awards. As has been the case in previous years, yet again the entries we received in 2017 have been of a very high standard. The quality of nominations is a testament to the many innovative and […]

Message from the CEO: 15 August 2017

Last week the New South Wales State Government announced that retailers across the state will be able to open their doors to trade on Boxing Day. An independent review of the two-year trial that took place in 2015 and 2016 recommended the change and we are pleased that the government has acted on the advice […]

QLD Retailers: Are you prepared for the Bag Ban?

The Queensland Bag Ban Legislation The Queensland Government has passed the Waste Reduction and Recycling Amendment Bill 2017 which will forbid retailers from providing or selling lightweight plastic bags (known as single-use singlet bags) from 1 July 2018. To ensure consistency for the retail sector, Queensland will adopt a similar law to South Australia, the Australian Capital […]

Policy Update: Boxing Day shopping here to stay in NSW

Boxing Day trade continues in NSW The NSW Government today announced it will legislate to allow Boxing Day trade to continue in all parts of NSW, in accordance with the findings of an independent review by Professor Percy Allan AM which considered feedback from retailers, employees and shoppers. NRA will update retailers on the implication […]

Sales figures show retailers on track for record Christmas spend

The retail industry is on track for record sales during the Christmas trade period, according to the latest round of retail figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The ABS figures for October 2016 reveal that retail turnover rose by 0.5 per cent, seasonally adjusted, which follows a rise of 0.6 per […]

NAB Online Retail Sales Index released

The National Australia Bank has released the Online Retail Sales Index: Indepth Report for June 2016 showing that online sales are surging, however bricks and mortar stores are still pulling ahead. At a glance the online retail spend in Australia is $20.1 billion while bricks and mortar equates to $296.9 billion. Although NSW has come […]

Young retailers impress awards judges

With just a little over 4 weeks until the winners are revealed, preparations for the 2016 Rewards for Excellence Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony are ramping up. Last Tuesday saw the 25 Young Retailer of the Year Finalists wow the judges during their Skype interviews. Our judges were extremely impressed with the calibre of talent […]