Timely information is one of the most important factors behind effective decision-making of any corporation. Until now, retailers have had to rely on monthly retail sales figures released by the major banks based solely on credit card transactions (which account for 60% of retail spending), as well as statistics released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which shows almost two-month-old data.
However, retailers will now be provided with far more up-to-date figures after today's launch of the Australian Retail Index, created by BDO and Retail Express, which showed that retail sales rose 8.4% over Easter. The index will provide retailers with the ability to assess their performance against their competitors on a weekly basis, as well as the ability to compare sales between states or metropolitan areas and the average amount being spent in store. It will also give a much more in-depth understanding of how consumers are making their purchases – whether that be via cash, credit card or lay-buys.
This is excellent news for Aussie retailers like Myer Holdings Ltd (ASX: MYR), David Jones Limited (ASX: DJS) and JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH), which will be able to gauge how effective their promotions have been or which items are performing particularly well at any given time. It will also enable them to adjust pricing or online strategies in a much timelier manner which could help them compete against the rapidly rising online sector.
The data of over 2,000 retailers will be included in the index which will provide data across four categories, including fashion and accessories, furniture and homewares, sporting and recreational goods and other general retailers. Retailers will soon have the option to subscribe to daily sales figures, which would be even more useful.
Foolish takeaway
Investors will also benefit from this trend. Until now, they have also had to wait for out-of-date figures to make investing decisions but will now be able to determine trends or performances sooner.
