ARA Research Hub

in partnership with

 

Here you will find a diverse range of consumer research insights that can deliver positive benefits to their business and the retail sector.

This content is developed by a team of leading researchers at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and powered by the ARA Consumer Research Committee which is a unique strategic collaboration between the ARA and QUT. Together with some of our leading ARA members, we are helping fund and create the generation and publication of new research to inform Australia’s leading retailers.

Dr Frank Mathmann

ARA Industry Research Advisor

To access the articles and summaries below you need to be an ARA member. If you are not a member, please contact the ARA membership team on  email membership@retail.org.au or 1300 368 041.

[ LIVE ] INDUSTRY DIGITAL DASHBOARD

This digital dashboard brings together the key metrics from our industry to provide a comprehensive overview of its performance. Our goal is to enhance the use of data and help inform decision making for the retail sector. By incorporating the best available research, we aim to support the growth and stability of the industry.

Research Translated

Academic research can be challenging to read and comprehend. In conjunction with QUT, new academic studies are now being translated into ‘research summaries’, designed to offer members exclusive and easy access to the latest retail and consumer knowledge.
Retail and Consumer Insights
In conjunction with QUT, a collection of the latest consumer and retail industry insights from leading Australian and international researchers are now offered in one convenient location for members.
What is adaptive clothing?

Have you ever tried to do up a zip or button a shirt one-handed? Put on a pair of jeans while seated? Click here to read more

The suburbs are the future of post-COVID retail

The COVID-19 pandemic delivered a body blow to CBD retailers, but it’s just the latest of their challenges in recent years. Click here to read more

How supermarket pharmacies could change the way we shop

On the way home, you wander into the supermarket for a loaf of bread. But before you reach the bread aisle, you drop in your prescription at the supermarket pharmacy. Click here to read more

How the attention economy helps stoke aggression towards retail workers

Australian retailers and unions say there is an epidemic of abuse and aggression directed towards retail staff. Click here to read more

Coronavirus has turned retail therapy into retail anxiety

Some of the routines developed during lockdown, such as cooking and baking at home or foregoing daily takeaway coffees, may continue post-pandemic if money is tight. Click here to read more

The self-surveillance strategy

Supermarkets are trying overt surveillance that also encourages “self-reflection” on any impulse to exploit loopholes in the bagging and payment systems. Click here to read more

COVID-19 has changed the future of retail

 

Even as social-distancing rules ease, this trend will consolidate. Many bricks-and-mortar shops are in trouble, particularly those in shopping centres. Click here to read more

Overhaul of payments system

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has announced a comprehensive reform of regulations governing the payments system. Click here to read more

Landlords and tenants ponder mutually assured destruction

The chief executive of Mosaic Brands has said of his threat to permanently close 300 to 500 stores in Australia unless landlords reduce rents. Click here to read more

Can’t resist splurging on online shopping?

Higher levels of distress have been linked with higher purchase intentions. Click here to read more

The war on abandoned trolleys can be won

Recovering trolleys is time-consuming and sometimes risky depending on the location. Collection often involves a significant cost to councils and commercial businesses. Click here to read more

Fast fashion shoppers on how ethical concerns shape their choices

We conducted in-depth interviews with fast fashion shoppers to find out how much they think about the conditions of the workers who make their clothes, and what effort they take to avoid slave-free clothing. Click here to read more

Delivery and supply chain problems are multiplying

E-commerce is booming but despite rerouting deliveries and staff working extra shifts, delays are becoming the norm. Click here to read more

Why retailers are tapping into paper catalogues

While it might seem that paper catalogues would be relegated to history with the advent of e-commerce, it seems as if, at least for these retailers, they are still part of doing business. Click here to read more

Any toy is educational if you support kids in their play

What’s the best educational toy to buy for the child (or grandchild) in your life? Click here to read more

Making it harder to import e-cigarettes is good news for our health

Access to e-cigarettes will require a doctor’s prescription. It’s good news for public health and bad news for the tobacco and e-cigarette industries. Click here to read more

Melbourne’s vanishing small businesses

Above all, this book of photographs is a reminder of a slower and simpler way of living. Click here to read more

How retailers are dealing with changing consumer habits

Consumer habits form around regular patterns of daily activity. As these patterns change, so do consumer habits. Click here to read more

Cashless payment is booming, thanks to coronavirus

A poll conducted by MasterCard found 82% of its users see contactless payments as cleaner than cash. Click here to read more

Retailers must innovate during the holidays and beyond

How do physical retailers increase in-store sales? Click here to read more

Up to 40% of UK retail space is not needed

The reality is that there is far too much retail floorspace in the UK. Dealing with it is going to be one of the big challenges of this decade. Click here to read more

Customer experience will help retailers overcome the financial hit from coronavirus

The growth of online commerce eroded many retailers’ top-line revenues, forcing them into an ongoing cycle of discounts and promotions just to keep up. Click here to read more

Fashion retailer Primark is refusing to sell online

Irish fast-fashion retailer Primark has no plans to sell its clothes online. Click here to read more

The demise of the department store

 

A poll conducted by MasterCard found 82% of its users see contactless payments as cleaner than cash. Click here to read more

Pandemic-era retail

The inability to mask for medical reasons raises important questions about the application of well-established principles of human rights law to the retail sector. Click here to read more

Creating middle-class retail jobs

‘Grocery-store cashiers and other frontline retail workers have helped get us through the pandemic, but do we value them? Why are retail jobs middle-class in Sweden, but low-wage work in Canada? Click here to read more

The rise and rise of Aldi

 

Twenty years ago, on January 25 2001, a virtually unknown German supermarket chain quietly opened its first stores in Australia. Click here to read more