Economic Structure and Performance of the Australian Retail Industry

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• Economic Structure and Performance of the Australian Retail Industry (PDF - 2551 Kb)
• Economic Structure and Performance of the Australian Retail Industry by chapters (Zip/Word - 2998 Kb)

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• Preliminaries (PDF - 127 Kb)
  • Cover, Copyright, Letter of transmittal, Terms of reference, Contents, Acknowledgments and Abbreviations
• Overview - including key points (PDF - 108 Kb)
• Recommendations (PDF - 17 Kb)
• Chapter 1 About the inquiry (PDF - 30 Kb)
  • 1.1 What the Commission has been asked to do
  • 1.2 Scope of the inquiry
  • 1.3 The Commission's approach
  • 1.4 A guide to the report
• Chapter 2 The role and development of Australian retail (PDF - 77 Kb)
  • 2.1 What is the role of retail?
  • 2.2 How has the retail industry developed in Australia?
• Chapter 3 The structure and performance of the retail industry (PDF - 303 Kb)
  • 3.1 A snapshot of the retail industry
  • 3.2 Market structure in retail
  • 3.3 Indicators of retail performance
  • 3.4 Conclusion
• Chapter 4 Trends and issues related to online retailing (PDF - 161 Kb)
  • 4.1 The development of e-commerce and online retailing
  • 4.2 Online share of retail sales
  • 4.3 Estimates for online retail share of total retail sales in the United Kingdom and the United States
  • 4.4 What is driving online sales?
  • 4.5 Characteristics of online purchasing
  • 4.6 The slow emergence of online grocery shopping
  • 4.7 Rapid growth in m-commerce
  • 4.8 Why has Australia lagged online sales of other countries?
  • 4.9 Constraints to online growth
• Chapter 5 Consumer protection (PDF - 85 Kb)
  • 5.1 Australia's consumer protection laws and online retailing
  • 5.2 Product safety and warranty issues in online retailing
  • 5.3 Online transaction security and protection against fraud
  • 5.4 Search engines
• Chapter 6 Retail price differences (PDF - 193 Kb)
  • 6.1 The Commission's retail price comparisons
  • 6.2 Factors influencing retail prices
  • 6.3 Conclusion
• Chapter 7 Appropriateness of current indirect tax arrangements (PDF - 255 Kb)
  • 7.1 Low value importation threshold
  • 7.2 The Australian threshold
  • 7.3 Overseas indirect tax arrangements
  • 7.4 Impact of the threshold on revenue
  • 7.5 Processing of parcels entering Australia
  • 7.6 Economic principles
  • 7.7 Impact of the threshold arrangements
  • 7.8 Changing the threshold
  • 7.9 Options for reforming processes
  • 7.10 Overseas online purchases of intangibles
  • 7.11 The way forward
• Chapter 8 Planning and zoning regulation (PDF - 153 Kb)
  • 8.1 How planning and zoning affects retail in Australia
  • 8.2 The impact of planning and zoning regulations on retail competition - overseas evidence
  • 8.3 Other impacts of planning and zoning regulations on the retail industry - overseas evidence
  • 8.4 The Australian experience with planning and zoning restrictions on competition
  • 8.5 Planning regulation and compliance costs
• Chapter 9 Retail tenancy leases (PDF - 62 Kb)
  • 9.1 The market for retail tenancy leases
  • 9.2 What are retail tenancy leases and how are they regulated?
  • 9.3 Recent regulation review and reform activity
  • 9.4 COAG retail tenancy reform activity
  • 9.5 The impact of planning and zoning on the market for retail tenancy leases
• Chapter 10 Retail trading hours regulation (PDF - 131 Kb)
  • 10.1 Why are trading hours regulated?
  • 10.2 What are the costs associated with regulation?
  • 10.3 Changing social patterns have led to more liberalised trading hours in Australia
  • 10.4 Are there benefits to be gained from deregulating shopping hours further in Australia?
  • 10.5 Should retail trading hours be fully deregulated?
• Chapter 11 Workplace relations regulation (PDF - 222 Kb)
  • 11.1 Introduction
  • 11.2 Industrial relations laws and institutional arrangements
  • 11.3 Setting pay and conditions in retail
  • 11.4 Wages and earnings outcomes and trends
  • 11.5 Concerns about awards and labour costs
  • 11.6 Workplace flexibility
  • 11.7 Conclusion
• Chapter 12 Employment, skills and training (PDF - 148 Kb)
  • 12.1 Employment
  • 12.2 Training
  • 12.3 Are labour shortages and skill levels affecting the retail industry?
  • 12.4 Conclusion
• Chapter 13 Other regulatory burdens (PDF - 54 Kb)
  • 13.1 Introduction
  • 13.2 Concerns raised with this review
  • 13.3 Existing processes for the identification and reform of unnecessary regulatory burdens
  • 13.4 Conclusion
• Appendix A Consultation (PDF - 36 Kb)
• References (PDF - 103 Kb)

Please note: The following appendices are only available online and are not in the printed copy.

• Appendix B Retail tenancy legislative activity by state (PDF - 27 Kb)
• Appendix C Wages and earnings outcomes and trends (PDF - 63 Kb)
• Appendix D Flexibility provisions in enterprise agreements (PDF - 70 Kb)
• Appendix E The Commissions retail price comparisons (PDF - 143 Kb)
• Appendix F Foreign indirect tax arrangements (PDF - 55 Kb)
• Appendix G Retail productivity (PDF - 47 Kb)
• Appendix H Impacts of reducing the LVT (PDF - 128 Kb)