Australia’s independent retail sector is amongst the best performing in the world. Read this article from the Australian Retailers Association:
Research from Vend reveals Australia’s independent retailers are among the best performing in the world, ringing in an average of AUD $504,979.85 annually compared to New Zealand ($495,360) and the UK ($487,355).
Vend’s annual Retail Benchmarks Report is an in-depth analysis of over 13,000 independent retailers’ sales performance over the past 12 months across various sectors and global markets.
Ranked by monthly revenue per retailer, the top three markets are:
North America (AUD $44,913)
Australia ($42,081)
New Zealand ($41,280)
Australia’s thriving independent retailers
From fashion and footwear to furniture and electronics, small retailers across Australia are earning significantly more per sale than most other global markets. The average transaction value stands at $81.15, a comfortable 14% higher than the worldwide mean value ($71.39).
Vend’s report looking at the health of Australia’s independent retail sector, also revealed:
● Australian shoe shops have the best-performing monthly revenues; each store earns an average of $40,601 per month, 47% higher than the global average ($27,595)
● Australia’s fashion and accessory stores outperform global competition: independent fashion stores take home an average of $37,060 per month, 27% higher than the global average ($29,209)
● Furniture retailers bring in a sizeable $72,690 per retailer per month; a fifth (18%) more than the global average of the same vertical ($61,467)
● Australia’s independent electronics stores are eclipsing even tech-hub North America. Per store, they are raking in an average of $51,362 a month, more than double the amount earned globally ($24,781)
“Far from struggling, independent retailers in Australia are healthy and thriving,” comments Dave Scheine, Vend Managing Director, APAC. “We know that the retail landscape is changing, and our data proves it. Despite the downward sales trends of multinational and big box retail evidenced by the ABS, independent retailers here are not only fighting back but are punching above their weight globally. It’s great to see that strong revenue was reported across Australia; in rural areas, regional towns and bustling cities across the nation.
“Smaller businesses are the fabric of Australia’s retail community, and these independent retailers are more competitive than ever, because they can save time and money to reinvest back into their businesses. They’re able to access the technology and support that much larger enterprise companies pay millions of dollars for. Plus, they can ensure that a personalised customer experience and beautifully curated product ranges remain a central part of their offering.”
“Consumers value small retailers in Australia,” adds Chris Pickings, Owner of Melbourne-based men’s fashion retailer and barbershop, Pickings and Parry. “As an independent retailer, we have a unique advantage over global retailers in that we can offer significant value and a personal service that appeals to all those Australians who like to shop local.
“We’ve been helped by technology designed specifically for small retailers and Government policies that have incentivised consumers to shop display local. Together, they’re helping to level the playing field with global brands better than perhaps elsewhere in the world.”
To celebrate the launch of the report, Vend has also produced an interactive calculator – a platform that allows retailers in Australia to track their own business’ performance against competitors both globally and locally.
The calculator allows retailers to input their data and track their performance across key metrics such as average monthly revenue, average gross margin, average number of monthly transactions, average transaction values, average basket size (number of items per sale) and average number of customers.
Vend has analysed this data as part of its Retail Benchmarks Report – a global report which analysed over 13,000 retailers across key markets and sectors from April 2018 and March 2019. You can read the full report here.
About Vend
Vend is cloud-based point of sale and retail management software that lets retailers run their business in-store, online and on-the-go. Vend’s software integrates with leading business applications around the world, including Afterpay, Square, Shopify, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, BigCommerce and WooCommerce. The first POS built for iOS; Vend is a key retail partner with Apple, CardConnect, Xero, and more. Vend is used in more than 25,000 stores in over 140 countries and has five global offices with over 300 staff. For more information, please visit www.vendhq.com/au.
About the data
The data and findings in the Retail Benchmarks Report are based on actual anonymised information from a sample of over 13,000 retailers using Vend. The vast majority of the retailers in this data set are independent retailers with 1-10 stores. All data is in gross-mean, to find the most accurate average figure for each data-point. The report is based on data taken from April 2018 to March 2019. Currency converted from USD using the exchange rate USD $1 – AUD $1.447 on 14/06/19. Figures rounded to the nearest dollar. All percentages have been rounded to the nearest percent.
From the Australian Retailers Association website: https://blog.retail.org.au/newsandinsights/australias-independent-retail-sector-among-best-performing-in-the-world
