8 March 2018
The world-leading Institute for Choice has found three quarters of South Australian consumers want to see changes to shop trading hours – including staying open later on weekends, opening earlier on Sunday mornings, and allowing suburban centres to open on public holidays.
The South Australian-first study on consumer preferences for shop trading hours, commissioned by Business SA, supports our calls for greater deregulation to allow shop owners the choice to open and close when it suits their needs and their customers.
The UniSA-based institute found an overwhelming 74 per cent of the South Australian consumers surveyed wanted to see changes to shop trading hours. In regional areas where there are no regulations, residents do not want to see any changes.
Business SA Executive Director Industry and Government Engagement, Anthony Penney, said South Australia’s shop trading restrictions were medieval, and the people had now spoken.
“People want to be able to shop when it’s convenient, and that includes Sunday mornings and after 5pm on weekends, when they’re not at work or battling peak-hour traffic,” Mr Penney said.
“In this 24-hour world of internet consumerism, allowing South Australian businesses to compete would mean people can shop locally and support small to medium-sized retailers battling to make a buck in a tight economy.”
The survey showed 75 per cent of respondents thought extended trading hours would be good for the economy, 62 per cent said they would shop after 5pm and 68 per cent said they would shop before 11am on Sundays.
Deregulation doesn’t mean all shops will be forced to stay open late every night if they don’t want to, it just gives them the choice to open when it suits their needs.
Institute for Choice co-director Joffre Swait said the findings showed deregulating shop trading hours was more than about increasing choice for consumers and retailers.
“It’s about people integrating shopping into their daily lives,” Professor Swait said.
“Thirty-five per cent would shop more frequently and almost 30 per cent would shop more, and that’s indicative of a hidden demand for people to heighten their economic activity, it’s indirect.
“There’s also the labour there to do it, 30 per cent said they’d apply for a job in retail if the change occurred.”
Click here to download the Business SA policy document on shop trading hours
Click here to download the Institute for Choice’s Consumer Insights on Shop Trading Hours report.
There will be a press conference to launch Business SA’s Shop Trading Hours focus paper and the Institute for Choice report at 10.30am today, Thursday 8 March, at Business SA, 136 Greenhill Rd, Unley.