Retailers brace for deluge of returns after Boxing Day bonanza
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Australian retailers are bracing for a sting in the tail from a bumper Christmas and Boxing Day sales period, with a record number of customers expected to return their goods in the coming weeks.
Australian Retailers Association (ARA) CEO Paul Zahra said the deluge of returns will be driven by the huge uptake in online shopping during the periods of COVID-19 lockdown and could potentially weigh down the already tight profit margins of the retailers.
The shift in online sales is expected to create headaches for retailers in the coming weeks.
Last modified on Wed 30 Dec 2020 18.11 EST
Labor has accused the Morrison government of failing to act on a two-year-old blueprint for deepening ties with India, after Australia’s new trade minister vowed to push for a free trade agreement between the two countries.
Australian exporters have been scrambling to find other markets after China – the top trading partner – clamped down on a range of imports including wine, barley, coal and seafood over the past year.
The value of Australian exports to China decreased by $1.2bn or 10% in November, according to monthly figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics last week.
China-Australia relations: Canberra’s plan to scrap research accord labelled ‘act of revenge’ over trade dispute Iron ore has yet to be dragged into the ongoing dispute between China and Australia. Photo: Reuters
China has called Australia s plan to scrap a research agreement between the Victorian government and Jiangsu province an act of revenge over trade disruption that is fast threatening Australia s economic growth.
As relations between the two countries continue to deteriorate, Australian press said earlier this week that Canberra was scrutinising the bilateral Victoria-Jiangsu Programme for Technology and Innovation Research and Development after it was identified as being potentially contrary to Australia s national interest.
China-Australia relations: from Kazakhstan to Serbia, winemakers vie for piece of Chinese market amid trade dispute yahoo.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from yahoo.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.