Sunday 25 March 2018

Retail News Briefs – 25/3/82018


Shopping On Instagram Hits Australia - overseas consumers have been able to click on little labels in Instagram photos to shop for the item in the photograph and that is now available in Australia. One early adopter identified a 5% increase in online sales during the first two weeks. Details from Instagram.

Creative Retailing - a Harry Potter style bar in London allows patrons to mix their own cocktails in a cauldron and pour their own beers using a magic wand.

Wesfarmers To Sell Off Coles  - Wesfarmers has decided to sell off Coles whilst maintaining a minority share. According to commentators, the sell-off will give Coles new impetous under a new owner and the freedom to chase its own strategy without the drag of Wesfarmers multi-faceted industry diversions.

New Market At Wyndham – a new fresh food market to rival South Melbourne market and reportedly to operate 7 days is planned for vacant land at Point Cook. See article - http://www.starweekly.com.au/news/market-in-the-making/

Australia’s Luxury Retail Sector Looks Strong – During a recent visit to Chadstone Shopping Centre the Editor noted the unusual sight of customers queueing outside two high-end stores, Luis Vuitton, and Gucci. The queues are a result of curating customer store entry so that small groups receive maximum service from shop staff . Ibisworld research is reporting that Australia’s luxury retail market is bucking the trend in the rest of retailing by recording annualized 10% growth in the 5 years up to 2017/18. Inbound tourism, particularly from Asia is the driving force. Separate research shows that Chinese tourists account for over 25% of all tourist expenditure in Australia.

Interesting Article 1.– The Harvard Business Review questions whether loyalty programs are a real substitute for product relevance. - https://hbr.org/2018/03/marketers-need-to-stop-focusing-on-loyalty-and-start-thinking-about-relevance

Interesting Article 2 – Being a workaholic is different from working long hours - https://hbr.org/2018/03/how-being-a-workaholic-differs-from-working-long-hours-and-why-that-matters-for-your-health

Interesting Article 3 – Australia’s standard of living is unlikely to improve in near future - http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-22/australian-standard-of-living-wont-be-getting-any-better/9573602

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