A major retail body has revealed that despite rising confidence in the retail environment, retailers are very concerned that banks aren’t doing their part to provide adequate cash flow.
The Australian Retailers Association has released research figures which highlighted that retailers are currently very worried about cash flow and it is currently their second greatest concern after lack of sales.
“Although we have seen a 24 percent jump in confidence among SME retailers over the past quarter, cash flow remained a prime concern (13 per cent) second only to lack of sales (26 per cent),” said Richard Evans, ARA executive director.
Evans emphasised that with consumers starting to re-enter the market, retailers are becoming less worried about the current economic climate and more optimistic about the future, but despite this they are still facing problems with cash flow and accessing credit.
“What we’re hearing from retailers is there is a lot of positive news for the sector but banks aren’t responding with credit and cash flow options for the small business sector,” he said.
“One of the issues here is that banks don’t fully understand how small retailers use credit because they commonly use their personal credit cards to fund their day-to-day operations such as cash flow and small capital equipment purchases. “
Evans commented that banks need to start looking at how small businesses operate.
“We’re calling on Australia’s big banks to start looking at the way small business owners fund day-to day operations and generate new low-rate credit cards and other lending products tailored to small business.”