The theme of this year’s Australian Food Safety Week, which began today (7 November 2011), is vulnerable populations which, according to the Food Safety Information Council, are growing rapidly in Australia. Australian Food Safety Week is the major activity of the Food Safety Information Council which aims to address the estimated 5.4 million cases of food borne illness in Australia each year. It will run from today  until 13 November 2011. According to data taken from the Australian Bureau of... ...Read more »

The first insights released today from the latest research report from Kidspot.com.au (Australia’s leading parenting website) puts the buying habits of Australian mums under the microscope and reveals what has the greatest influence on their decisions at each stage of the purchase journey. Based on a quantitative study of 2,165 mums conducted between August and September this year, across www.kidspot.com.au and www.birth.com.au plus Facebook, the study set out to help marketers successfully... ...Read more »

The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) said the ABS August Retail Trade figures released today show a meager 0.3 percent growth in retail trade. ARA Executive Director Russell Zimmerman said other key economic indicators were released today pointing to concerns with several parts of the Australian economy. “The October 2010 ACCI Survey of Investor Confidence today shows deterioration in business conditions and dented business confidence over the September quarter. The AIG/Commonwealth Bank... ...Read more »

New figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that retail sales rose by 0.6% in April, including a 1.3% increase in food retailing and a 0.7% drop in the Cafes, Restaurants and Takeaway Food Services sector. In current price trend terms, both sectors showed growth of 0.2%, an increase in the trend now for 23 consecutive months. The Australian Retailers Association described the month’s growth as ‘dismal’, suggesting that consumers were beginning to cocoon in their homes. “April... ...Read more »

According to new figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the apparent consumption of ready-to-drink pre-mixed alcoholic beverages fell by 30% in 2008-09, reversing an upward trend for the last four years, based on the quantity of alcohol produced and sold. Apparent consumption dropped from 18.7 million litres in 2007-08 – 1.08 litres per person – to 13.1 million litres, or 0.74 litres per person. By contrast, spirits showed a rise in apparent consumption, from 20.2 million... ...Read more »

The latest ABS retail trade figures show that sales in March rose 0.3%, seasonally adjusted, compared with a fall of 1.2% the previous month. Sales rose, in seasonally adjusted terms, across five retail industry groups: Clothing, Footwear & Other Personal Accessory Retailing (1.4%), Department Stores (1.1%), Other Retailing (0.9%), Cafes, Restaurants & Takeaway Food Services (0.7%) and Food Retailing (0.3%). Sales fell in Household Goods Retailing (-1.0%). Cafes, restaurants and takeaway... ...Read more »

The latest ABS retail trade figures show that sales in February fell 1.4%, seasonally adjusted, compared with a rise of 1.1% the previous month. Most states experienced a drop in sales this February, except for Tasmania, which rose by 1.5%, and the Northern Territory which rose by 0.8%. In original terms, Australian turnover decreased 11.9% in February 2010. On the positive side however, Australian turnover increased 3.4% in February 2010 compared with February 2009. The only industry category with... ...Read more »

The latest ABS retail trade figures show that sales in December fell 0.7%, seasonally adjusted, although restaurant and takeaway outlets were big winners. Sales declined in every category except Cafés, Restaurants & Takeaway Food Services – where sales surged 2.5%, continuing on recent positive sales trends for the sector. Restaurants and cafés had a difficult end to 2008 and start to 2009 but an economic resurgence has helped many return to more prosperous times. High levels of consumer... ...Read more »

The level of food inflation in Australia has risen to 1.4% in the December quarter, although it remains moderate when compared to the rapid price hikes of the first half of 2008. The Australian Bureau of Statistics released their figures this morning, with food one of the main contributors to a 0.5% increase to the CPI. The food group inflation of 1.4% was noticeably higher than recent quarters, with the full year-on-year figure at just 1.9%. The most significant contributors to the increase were... ...Read more »

Retail sales rose a further 1.4 per cent in November, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported today, with ‘food retail’ (+1.6%) and ‘cafes, restaurants & takeaway food services’ (+1.1%) both performing similarly to the broader retail market. The strong figures surprised analysts, who were expecting a figure closer to 0.4% or o.5%. “The strong November retail figures shows spending may be starting to realign with consumer confidence,” Margy Osmond, CEO... ...Read more »