It was the second Christmas plagued by Covid-19 with the arrival of the Omicron variant. Despite the challenges this brought, retailers around the country have reported solid trade in December, although business has seen a slowdown for some moving into the New Year.

Winning Group continues to experience strong customer demand following a positive Christmas period.

“Despite logistic challenges that continue to plague the nation, our network is almost back to full capacity and we continue to offer free next day delivery, free removal and recycling of old products and 24/7 Australian-based customer support,” a Winning Group spokesperson said.

Christmas trade was very strong for the BSR Group with December finishing ahead of 2020, despite stock shortages.

“In-store sales bounced back and increased compared to previous months when lockdowns were in play in NSW and VIC, which was no surprise,” BSR Group CEO and managing director, Graeme Cunningham told Appliance Retailer.

“Sales were strong across most categories with small appliances exceeding our expectations. We also experienced solid results in personal care and personal audio categories. Surprisingly, inventory was generally better than expected, although shortages did impact TVs, seasonal and furniture.”

December trade was also a notable success at Bi-Rite,closing off another strong year for the group.

“After the growth we experienced in 2020, we felt a level of uncertainty on what to expect in 2021. However, looking back on December alone, there were weeks that delivered 20% growth on the same period in 2020,” Bi-Rite’s AK Sacur told Appliance Retailer.

“However, sales for January to date have seen a decline, which was expected given the roaring trade of the last two years, as well as rising Covid cases. We remain confident that the first half of 2022 will deliver a strong result.”

OLED TV has been an absolute standout category with the group delivering nearly twice as many units as last year. “We also saw good growth in small appliances, particularly air fryers and coffee machines. Air-conditioning, which is largely dependent on the weather, has been struggling as we are yet to experience a typical summer season.”

There has been a significant shift from in-store sales to online with more customers seeking less interaction face to face, but the group is cognisant that its website is an extension of its retail footprint with the vast majority of website visitors still choosing to transact in store.

“Within the group, select members are now seeing upwards of 30% of their entire sale process occurring through social media, particularly Facebook Messenger, email, phone calls, leads generated from our website as well as other means.”

Speaking on supply chain issues, Sacur said the situation is being felt even more now, given the amount of people isolating. “Stock shortages and delivery delays have been an issue for the better part of 2020 and 2021, but we are now faced with employee shortages due to Covid. Thankfully we are understanding of the situation suppliers and retailers are in, and in a way have become accustomed to it.”

Tasmania has remained relatively unscathed by Covid with the border remaining shut for most of 2021, but when borders did re-open in early December, foot traffic “really backed off” for Elite Appliances in Hobart.

“The threat of Covid likely caught many Tasmanians off guard and this continued into early January with builders slowly coming back online from the 10th and many people choosing to spend more time at home,” Elite managing director, Mark Banovich told Appliance Retailer.

“The last week or so has been substantially better, especially with clients trying to get in ahead of 1st February price rises. Foot traffic has certainly increased as the month has moved on and I foresee a real uptake in sales towards the end of the month. With high vaccination rates, I believe the shock should pass and it will be business as usual from February.”

Given the nature of Elite’s business as a kitchen, bathroom and laundry specialist, trade normally winds down in December and picks back up towards end of January in line with construction. “We are not seeing any sign of the building industry slowing down, which is helping our commercial side of the business surge ahead.”

Elite’s online sales continue to increase from a low base, but Banovich acknowledges that there is still work to do in expanding its bathroom and appliance offering online. “Many of our clients are still wanting to place orders with us directly, so in many cases the online store is working well with bricks and mortar,” he said.

Moving further into 2022, Banovich expects stock shortages and logistics to remain key issues, which is further exacerbated being in Tasmania. “It is more expensive for our suppliers and further complicates the supply chain, but we are working with our partners to minimise the effects on our clients, wherever possible,” he said.

“We are also fortunate to have the local knowledge and resources in delivering product to all corners of the state, on time and in one piece, from any of our warehouses in the greater Hobart area.”

Another challenge facing the business – and the broader industry – is finding staff capable of fulfilling sales roles. “We generally take people on from outside of the industry and give them the appropriate training, but at this stage we are finding this a real challenge, which may result in some re-structuring to the sales floor.”

Spartan had a solid December with a nearly 20% increase in business on December 2020. 

“Foot traffic hasn’t been too impacted by the recent surge in Covid cases in South Australia, and January continues to see consistent levels of customers shopping in-store, while our online sales remain strong,” head of marketing, Ryan Burgess told Appliance Retailer.

“Stock shortages and supply chain issues have just meant our relationship and communication with suppliers has strengthened as we work closer with them on sourcing alternatives or availability. Suppliers are working hard to ensure we’re in a position to service deliveries where possible and we understand the difficult position they’re in,” he added.

Even though travel is opening up domestically and internationally, South Australians appear to be staying put, and instead investing in their homes. “We anticipate another solid year in 2022 as families continue to make home improvements and refocus their priorities.”

Despite Black Friday bringing sales forward to November and the impact of Omicron on foot traffic pre-Christmas, Videopro experienced a solid December, supported by a strong Boxing Day.

“We had a larger uptake of sales in store throughout the month with customers doing their research online and spending less time browsing. Our Click & Collect service was popular, and we saw increased online conversion among those who were concerned about coming into store,” Videopro CEO, Cameron Douglas told Appliance Retailer.

“OLED TVs and cameras were the standout categories. We remain relatively optimistic about the year ahead and grateful of the industry we are in.”

Rawsons sales director, Jon Pysing described business conditions as “very weird” over recent weeks.

“We had a strong lead into Christmas with solid Weber store sales. Over the holiday period, foot traffic has been good, but conversion is a little softer than usual, given increased hesitancy around supply,” he told Appliance Retailer.

“Our clients are being urged to place orders as soon as possible to get in the queue as supply is all over the place at the moment.”