With both the federal budget and ABS figures bringing some good news to the industry has been a welcome result for retailers.
National Retail Association (NRA) CEO, Dominique Lamb, says the 2019 budget takes key steps towards helping Australia’s retail sector, which has so far experienced a slow start to the year.
“Mum-and-dad small businesses have been struggling so far in 2019 and the extension of the instant asset write-off will make a big difference to smaller retailers,” she explains.
“Local cafes, family-owned restaurants and small clothing shops to name just a few will now be able to make investments in their business that would otherwise be unaffordable.
“The tax cuts for low and middle-income earners will mean that ordinary Australians will now have more money in their hip pocket to spend at the shops. The need to restore consumer confidence was vital and these tax breaks will go a long way to achieving that.”
The government’s move to raise the tax offset for PAYG taxpayers, putting up to $1,080 in the pockets of singles and up to $2,160 for dual-income families―increasing actual purchasing power―means Australians can spend with confidence, delivering a boost to local businesses, adds Australian Retailers Association (ARA) executive director, Russell Zimmerman.
“Given taxpayers will have this cash as soon as July if their tax returns are complete, this represents a substantial and almost immediate boost to retail spending across the economy,” he says.
Additionally, the recently released February trade figures by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) indicate solid year-on-year growth of 3.17 per cent.
Zimmerman says that while there are some fluctuations in the figures in discretionary spending categories―where turnover may have declined month-on-month but remains higher compared to this time last year―the bottom line in these numbers is that consumers continue to spend with confidence, which is great for businesses in the retail sector.”
Lamb agrees, saying the ABS sales figures for February are the largest monthly increase since November 2017 and indicate that consumer confidence is heading in the right direction.
“It has been a very sluggish period for retail and these figures serve as a giant morale boost to businesses across the country.
“Combined with tax cuts announced in the Budget, this bodes well for an increase in discretionary spending in the coming months which will be very good news for retail.”
