Retail spend tipped to pick up speed as Melbourne Cup Day races closer

Retail spend tipped to pick up speed as Melbourne Cup Day races closer

Melbourne, Australia – 1 November 2018 - Figures from leading retail management software provider Vend shows that Aussie race-goers will be splashing the cash on new hairdos, as well as fashion, in the lead up to Cup Day this year.

Vend’s data has found that last year retail spending in the week leading up to Cup Day jumped across the country by 6% compared to the October average. And while it was fashion and apparel stores that had the biggest spending increase of 8%, salons and barbershops also saw spending increase by 4% in that one week, followed by speciality food and drinks stores and florists both with a 3% increase.

It’s also predicted that Adelaide, not Melbourne, will be most fashionable city for Cup Day as shoppers in Adelaide spent 11% more than the October average in the week prior to the Cup last year. Spending also jumped in Melbourne by 7%, Sydney (6%), and Perth (4%). While Brisbane stores had a 13% drop leading up to the Melbourne Cup.

This year, retail spending figures for the past week have already leapt ahead, up 17% compared to the rest of October. However Vend cautions that this large jump is partly to do with a slower than usual October, and it will be retail sales in the coming week that show the true impact of the Melbourne Cup on spending.

“We’re confident spending will continue to lengthen its stride over the next week, but overall it’s likely to be neck and neck with 2017. Currently the average sales value over the past week is actually three percent lower than it was last year,” says Dave Scheine, Vend Country Manager for APAC. “But even a six percent boost in one week like we saw last year is still a real win for retailers - and probably a far better return than most of us will see on our Melbourne Cup bets on Tuesday.”

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About the data

Vend transactional data from a sample of 5,000 retailers.

About Vend

Vend is cloud-based point-of-sale and retail management software that lets retailers run their business in-store, online, and on-the-go. Vend’s software includes inventory management, Ecommerce integrations, customer loyalty, and reporting analytics. Vend integrates with other world-leading business and payments applications including Shopify, Square, Xero and PayPal, and is a key retail partner in Apple’s global Mobility Partner Program. Vend is trusted by retailers in over 100 countries and is used in more than 25,000 stores worldwide. Founded in 2010, Vend has offices in Auckland, Melbourne, London, San Francisco and Toronto, and has raised more than A$60 million from top-tier investors. For more information, please visit: http://www.vendhq.com.