Zoe Moffatt
Sunbury retailers are feeling the strain of tight purse strings amid a 0.8 per cent fall in Australian retail turnover, new Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data revealed.
The new figures released on July 28, revealed a June decrease in turnover despite end of financial year sales.
Sunbury Business Association marketing and communications officer Mike Mills said the latest figures do not surprise local business owners.
“Customers’ spending behaviour is different, they have become more cautious, the amount spent per transaction is less [and] they’re not shopping as often,” Mr Mills said.
“They’re also not as impulsive and only buy with a specific reason such as a birthday or baby shower.”
ABS head of retail statistics Ben Dorber agreed and said spending was weaker than usual, with cost of living pressures weighing on consumer spending.
“Retail turnover fell sharply in June due to weaker than usual spending on end of financial year sales,” Mr Dorber said.
“There was extra discounting and promotional activity in May, leading up to mid-year sales events.
“This delivered a boost in turnover for retailers, but that proved to be temporary as consumers pulled back on spending in June.”
Mr Mills said Sunbury has felt the impact on retail more than some other areas and many retailers are asking questions like ‘how long do we fight?’
“The increased cost of living due to interest rates… have affected customer behaviour… [along with] road closures… [and] the post COVID effect has also contributed to customers being less spontaneous.”
Despite these impacts, Mr Mills said he is hopeful there will be improvement soon, with retailers adapting to changes in consumer behaviour.
“It will take some time once the dust settles post interest rates rises,” he said.
“Customer loyalty is one of the key traits for retailers to survive.
“For small retailers it will be important to differentiate from the big retailers and to look for ways to reduce on-going costs.
“There is a lot of residential and commercial development in Sunbury which will bring new business. Our local government and Hume council will continue to support Sunbury.”
