DALLAS SHERRINGHAM
It’s no secret times have been the toughest on record for Parramatta’s bricks and mortar retail industry, but this sector has a proud history of bouncing back from the hardest of times.
Now retailers have revealed the solutions and support measures needed for the industry bounce back this year and beyond.
New research from a leading parcel delivery service reveals the solutions retailers believe will help the entire retail industry consolidate this year.
The findings come from an independent survey of 172 Australian retailers, commissioned by CouriersPlease (CP).
Paul Roper, Chief Commercial Officer at CP Paul Roper said the survey showed the retail industry had a long way to go to recovery, but the opportunity to get involved in online sales was an ideal way for a business to survive.
When CP asked retailers about their own recovery, a third said they would be able to recover to pre-pandemic levels between July and December this year.
Just a quarter revealed their recovery could be in July. A further 13% said their recovery would depend on restrictions lifting completely and 8% said recovery would take place after 2021.
CP then presented retailers with a list of potential solutions that could help the retail industry recover faster – including an extension of the JobKeeper scheme and tax incentives from the Government.
CP asked retailers to choose what they think the industry needed to bounce back once social restrictions were removed. Respondents could choose multiple answers.
The majority of retailers at 42% believe an effective treatment or vaccine was needed, 34% said further Government assistance to help them pay employee salaries, such as an extension of the JobKeeper scheme; 27%t said tax incentives from the Government; and 17% believe further cashback incentives from the Government were necessary for the industry’s recovery.
One fifth of retailers said a recovery would require more cash for consumers to help boost their confidence. Consumer confidence fell by 27% when social restrictions were enforced last year.
“The retail industry certainly has a long way to go to recovery,” Mr Roper said.
“While eCommerce has remained strong, many bricks and mortar retailers were forced to close their doors last year. The end of JobKeeper in March, a slow rollout of the NSW Government’s Dine and Discovery voucher scheme and continuing COVID cases across the country, including the recent spike in cases in Melbourne, are just a few of the factors that could lead to cautious consumer spending this year.
“I encourage these retailers to consider shifting to, or growing, their online or omnichannel offering as more Australians become comfortable with online shopping. A number of support measures remain at retailers’ disposal, including the SME Guarantee Scheme and the instant asset write-off scheme,” he said.
The full survey results, including breakdowns across organisation size and industries, can be found here: couriersplease.com.au/Portals/0/CP_Retail_Industry_White_Paper_230221.pdf
