Retail in Australia - Coronavirus (COVID-19) Country impact

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) country report analyses how the pandemic will impact retail spend in Australia.

The total retail market is expected to decrease by 3.2% in 2020 versus the previous forecast of 2.7% growth, wiping AU$17.0bn off the Australian retail market as consumers face a recession for the first time in decades.

While retailers were not forced to shut by the Australian government, many chose to shut their doors for the safety of staff and customers Retailers have also placed a lot of focus on supporting the vulnerable in the community.

Scope

• Australia is expected to perform slightly better than its close neighbour, New Zealand, that enforced a stricter lockdown than that in Australia.
• We expect the impact of COVID 19 to result in a sharp initial decline followed by a bounce back in 2021, with the value the market expected to recover to pre COVID 19 levels in 2021.

Reasons to Buy

• Use our revised market forecasts out to 2024 to understand how the Australian retail market will perform.
• Use our in-depth analysis to review how key retailers have responded to COVID-19.
• Use our data on key consumer shopping and lifestyle habits to see how the population have responded to the impact of COVID-19.

Table of Contents

• Executive Summary
• Market forecasts
• Consumer behaviour
• Retailer themes and responses
• Market forecasts
• Headlines
• Total retail market vs. pre-COVID-19 forecasts
• Total retail growth vs. pre-COVID-19 forecasts
• Consumer behaviour
• Purchasing patterns snapshot
• Purchasing patterns: non-food
• Purchasing patterns: food
• Purchasing patterns: drinks
• Consumer habits
• Retailer themes and responses
• Contactless delivery
• Changing online strategy
• Community support

Appendix

• Methodology

List of Tables

• Change in shopping behaviour for key non-food categories
• Change in shopping behaviour for key food categories
• Change in shopping behaviour for key drinks categories

List of Figures

• Total retail market vs. pre COVID-19 forecasts, 2019-2024
• Total retail growth vs. pre COVID-19 forecasts, 2019-2024
• Top 3 products that consumers stockpiled, bought more of, bought less of and stopped buying
• COVID-19 impact on consumer behaviour in terms of going out, preparing food at home and social media