Myer chief Bernie Brookes said the traditional January spending binge had been blunted by a more cautious consumer environment, forcing retailers to work harder for each sale.
“It's still a very difficult environment, with competition from new market entrants and the internet, and shoppers have become a little immune to the allure of discounts, so it's still a tough retail environment,'' Brookes told The Australian.
Myer has responded by conducting daily promotions to keep shoppers coming back throughout the sale period.
“Each day has to have additional deals, new discounts, new surprises. For example, this weekend we had a Super Saturday, which included extra discounts and prize giveaways. You need to constantly have something new to drive the customer into the store,'' he was quoted as saying.
“You can't just set the course at the start of the clearance period and wait to see how it all turns out; you need to constantly adjust to drive sales and keep customers interested. It's hard work but you've got to constantly be monitoring your sales, your prices and your inventory.''
But he noted Myer was still spending less overall on markdowns than during last year's summer clearance sales, either by pushing suppliers to fund discounts or by limiting the time deep discounts were available.
A number of retailers have complained that cool weather and rain during the sale period, particularly in Sydney, have slowed sales of summer fashions.
Meanwhile, Jason McVicar, general manager of store operations at rival department store David Jones, told The Australian newspaper the number of shoppers coming into stores was encouraging.
“We have been satisfied with the traffic into our stores over the two weeks since our half-yearly clearance began on Boxing Day; traffic has been solid, and we're hoping that will continue over the next few weeks and give us a solid outcome for the second quarter, which closes at the end of January,'' McVicar told the paper.
``We've seen some strong results in apparel, shoes and accessories; there's been some real strengthening there and I think people have realised they still do want to buy the top brands, so that's been very pleasing.''
Premier Retail chief Mark McInnes said the group’s novelty stationery chain Smiggle had achieved an “exceptional trading period over December and January'' in Singapore.
The news came as the latest official figures for Australia consumer spending for November weakened
Australian retail trade at current prices was flat in November at a seasonally adjusted A$20.933bn, compared to A$20.927bn in October, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said on Monday.
Economists had forecast a rise of 0.3% for the month.
Commonwealth Bank chief economist Michael Blythe said the data showed the domestic retail sector remained very subdued across the board.
He said spending in cafes and restaurants was offset by declines in clothing and department stores.
November's flat retail trade figures were consistent with forecasts from retailers, Macquarie senior economist Brian Redican told Australian Associated Press.
The flat sales figures could have been a result of heavy discounting by retailers as they sought to attract business, according to Redican.
However, sales via the internet were healthy, the ABS data showed.
IG Markets analyst Cameron Peacock said bricks and mortar shops were struggling to match internet prices.
The November retail figures confirmed the Australian retail sector needed to drastically change its offering and its model and that another cut to interest rates was on its way, he told the newswire.
News lead image: Myer Department Stores
