That was the year that was...

What a difference a year makes – and I’m not just talking about the industry’s sudden disdain for drop crotch pants.

The Australian Centre for Retail Studies (ACRS) has just released its Australian Retail Snapshot Report for 2009.

Referencing a broad range of secondary sources – including Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, financial announcements and trade publications – the report crunched the year that was into 76 pages of hits and misses.

For the most part, it turned out to be surprisingly fashionable.

Despite a hostile 12 months marked by falling consumer sentiment and higher unemployment, the retail sector powered on to generate $236.9 billion in revenue, up by 5.6 per cent from January to December 2008.

Aided by the Federal Government’s stimulus package and some healthy interest rate cuts, clothing, footwear and accessory sales grew 6.6 per cent from $18.3 billion in 2008 to $19.5 billion in 2009. Department store sales also grew by 2.4 per cent from $18.3 billion to $18.8 billion – a sharp contrast to their sluggish performance in 2010.

So what can retailers, which have been forced to kick-start mid-year sales earlier than usual this year, expect for the rest of 2010? Cautious optimism, according to the ACRS. The decline in the unemployment rate signifies a rise in the number of working consumers or, in other words, a surge in potential Carrie Bradshaws.

“The overall growth in income levels will positively affect the discretionary spending power of consumers and enable them to demand a broader selection of goods across higher price brackets,” the report found.

The catch? “Heightened uncertainly surrounding the economic outlook” plus “consumer caution” equals “precautionary saving”. Department store and clothing spending will be particularly cautious, as competition remains strong and industry concentration increases.

Of course, the best defence in uncertain times is knowledge.

Ragtrader will publish excerpts of the report in coming issues, as well as coverage of several industry seminars and conferences. One of these is the recent Higher Learning seminar in Sydney, which included a broad range of speakers from the head womenswear buyer at General Pants to designer label Nookie.

Stay tuned...