According to recent figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics retail is on the up, following a poor result in July.
The National Retail Association (NRA) says retail turnover rose by 0.4 per cent nationwide in August. CEO Dominique Lamb believes the personal income tax cuts and reductions in interest rates are starting to have an impact.
“The August results are a big improvement on July, with rises in turnover recorded across all industries bar one,” she says.
“Several economic levers have been pulled in recent months―such as cuts to income tax and interest rates―to lift retail out of its slumber and today’s results indicate that things may be starting to slowly turnaround.”
However, while retail is showing positive growth signs, consumer confidence is still quite low, so there is still work that needs to be done to get consumers back into stores.
“Earlier this week we saw the Reserve Bank again cut interest rates to just 0.75 per cent in a bid to further encourage household spending.
“As we head into the Christmas period, the NRA certainly urges Aussies to spend any extra money they’ve received via tax cuts or the drop in interest rates at their local retail outlet,” adds Lamb.
