The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) commend Western Australia’s (WA) State Government on their efforts to approve an additional four hours of trading for general retail shops situated within the Perth metropolitan area, for both the Labour Day and Easter Monday public holidays.
The announcement made by the State Government means that larger retail shops will now have the opportunity to trade any time between 8am until 6pm on Labour Day and Easter Monday, instead of the previous 11am to 5pm trading hours.
Russell Zimmerman, Executive Director of the ARA said the decision put forth by the WA State Government is a positive step towards creating a level playing field for retailers who are competing in a 24/7 marketplace.
“We now live in an age where everything is so readily available and with online retailers offering the convenience of around the clock purchasing of products and services, customers have the option shop to whenever and wherever,” Mr Zimmerman said
“While this is convenient choice for consumers, it is placing an immense amount of pressure on local retailers’ capacity to compete in the highly saturated retail market. Therefore, the decision made by the State Government should provide some relief for WA retailers and offer them the chance to compete alongside their competitors which should assist in reducing the strain.”
As the retail industry employs more than 1.2 million people, the ARA believe the extended trading hours will greatly benefit retail staff, as retail employers will now have the option to roster extra staff on these public holidays.
“With public holidays such as Easter being a busy time for retailers, employers will be looking to roster or hire extra staff to work during this period to accommodate for the rush of customers who will be preparing for the celebrations,” Mr Zimmerman said.
“As the number of jobseekers in Australia continues to increase, the extended trading hours put in place by the State Government will provide these prospects with the opportunity to earn extra wages if they so please.”
With the latest December retail trade figures recorded by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) indicating that WA had recorded a 1.23% year-on-year growth, its strongest since July 2017, the ARA believes the extended trading hours will be a positive contribution to retail trade and assist in strengthening the retail industry.
“The December trade figures produced some commendable results for year-on-year growth across the States and Territories and WA was one of the States that showed improvement throughout 2018,” Mr Zimmerman said.
“The decision made by the WA State Government is a promising lead for retail trade in 2019 and should alleviate some of the pressure on retailers operating within the metropolitan region and stimulate the overall local WA economy.”
The ARA would like to formally thank the WA State Government on their decision and encourage them consider reviewing trading hours across the whole year.
