The new year is looking good for Aussie retailers according to independent eftpos provider Tyro, with sales predicted to increase significantly.
December 2016 sales climbed three per cent compared to the same time the previous year and small and medium sized retailers can expect more of the same in 2017.
“Tyro estimates small and medium sized retailers will reach about $215 billion in sales this financial year, compared with $200 billion for the large retailing chains,” says Tyro CEO Gerd Schenkel.
“In December alone, small and medium sized retailers processed about $23.5 billion in sales, a three per cent increase on the same period the previous year.
“This was a cracking finish to 2016, and we expect more of the same over the coming six months to the end of the financial year.
“The sales figures show that smaller retailers are defying the drift to international online sales, and continuing to provide a viable alternative for discerning Australian shoppers. In part, this is because smaller retailers are embracing online sales themselves, opening up new markets for their products.”
Schenkel says that Australia’s one million SMEs are critical to Australian prosperity, as they provide eight million of the country’s 12 million jobs, and contribute more than $343 billion to the economy annually.
“We are very pleased to see the SME sector doing well. In 2016, 54 per cent of our SME customers were able to grow their turnover, and they did so by an average of 15 per cent per annum.
“This is in contrast to the total economy where typically only about one third of all businesses managed to grow their income at all.”
By Marion Gerritsen
