At long last the Government’s $157 billion, five-year income tax package has passed the senate.
As a result, millions of workers across the country will see as much as an extra $1,080 flood into their bank accounts over the coming weeks as they file their tax returns. This most certainly is welcome news to retailers.
The economy has hardly been going gangbusters in the first half of 2019. Consumer spending has remained stubbornly low, forcing the RBA to again cut interest rates, and the latest round of ABS retail figures showed another slow month in May.
There is no silver bullet when it comes to boosting retail spend. However, these tax cuts will certainly help kick-start spending and they could not be timelier.
It is also promising to see the Government encouraging consumers to spend the money at the shops. You may all remember that the Rudd Government stimulus – designed to stimulate the economy during the GFC – led to a boom in retail sales.
Tax breaks for low and middle income earners, coupled with record-low interest rates of only 1 per cent, certainly maximises consumer spending power and we’re optimistic that this will translate into an uptick in sales.
In the meantime, it may be worthwhile considering how your business can best take advantage of these tax cuts. During the 2009 stimulus there were retailers who ran marketing campaigns and sales events targeted specifically at shoppers looking to spend their $900.
Although this round of tax offsets does not encompass every single worker in the country, it does however capture a large portion and demographics most likely to spend spare money. A simple but effective campaign to lure their extra cash could result in a handy windfall for your business.
Meanwhile, last week the NRA was delighted to host three special events for retailers across Australia, the tri-annual State of the Retail Nation. Aimed at small to medium businesses, the events took place in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney and featured three expert panels discussing the role of technology in the customer experience.
While the topic of discussion was the same among all three panels, each event provided different insights on how to execute, express and evolve retail business with the use of technology.
I’d like to thank everyone who attended the three events and in particular acknowledge our tremendous guest speakers. All panels were informative and well received by those who attended, once again demonstrating the insightful people we have in the retail sector.
All the best for the week ahead!