What's good for the shopper isn't necessarily good for the shop.
Women's clothing prices in Australia are the cheapest since records began in 1989, the latest inflation figures show.
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Marcs, David Lawrence in voluntary administration
The companies behind fashion brands David Lawrence and Marcs have been placed in voluntary administration. Vision courtesy ABC News 24.
And clothing and footwear prices fell 0.9 per cent in the December quarter, compared with the previous year, amid tough competition from international and online retailers, and a consumer trend to splash cash on services and products for their (ever more expensive)Â home.
Shoppers have also become accustomed to years of sales.Â
"If I wait a week or so, there'll be 25 per cent off, or there'll be a two-for-one or that sort of thing, so I generally sort of wait," Brooke Curry, from Wagga Wagga in NSW, tells Fairfax Media in Melbourne's CBD on Friday. "You know that an offer will come out in the next week or so, because everything seems to be on sale at some point in time."
![graphic](http://web.archive.org./web/20170204114254im_/http://www.smh.com.au/cqstatic/12z7v7/0402womenClothes729px.jpg)
Retailers cut prices in December to boost all-important Christmas sales, and suffered a hangover in January. Citi analyst Craig Woolford has described retail sales in the first month of this year as "sluggish".Â
Shoppers have complained that what's on offer now is not as good as what was available for Christmas.
![Shoppers have also become accustomed to years of sales.](/web/20170204114254im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/5/9/l/c/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gu4t5w.png/1486154228235.jpg)
"Sales start a lot earlier now, so in December I think you can get some really nice things," Samantha Carson from Black Rock said.
"I think probably now you're picking over all the leftovers."
![Even companies that are trading well have complained about market conditions.](/web/20170204114254im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/5/9/l/f/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gu4t5w.png/1486154228235.jpg)
Collapses mount
And February has now lived up to its reputation as a tough month for retailers, with high-profile clothing chains Marcs and David Lawrence collapsing, owing about $30 million and putting at risk 1130 jobs and dozens of stores.
The collapse has been blamed on many things: deteriorating sales, weak market conditions, poor cash flow, the brands losing favour at department store David Jones, competition from international rivals such as Topshop, Zara, H&M; and Uniqlo, and a failure to find a buyer last year.
People are preferring to shop cheap right at the moment. Things are hard, people are preferring to shop less, and shop cheaper.
Evelyn Makris of West Croydon in SA
Evelyn Makris, of West Croydon in South Australia, says Marcs and David Lawrence have been probably hurt by widespread discounting.
"People are preferring to shop cheap right at the moment," she says. "Things are hard, people are preferring to shop less, and shop cheaper." Â
![Sales start a lot earlier accroding to Samantha Carson, from Black Rock.](/web/20170204114254im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/5/7/d/r/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gu4t5w.png/1486154228235.jpg)
Glenn Carmody, managing partner of consumer and industrial products at professional services company EY, says Australian retailers have under invested in logistics and infrastructure over the past decade. Combined with higher labour costs relative to overseas, this has left them with lower margins and little room for slow months.Â
One retailer says February is "when reality hits home. And there will be more casualties".
!['Everything seems to be on sale at some point in time' says Brooke Curry, from Wagga Wagga.](/web/20170204114254im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/5/7/d/p/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gu4t5w.png/1486154228235.jpg)
Investment bank Macquarie agrees. In a recent report, it tipped more retailers to collapse in the first three months of 2017, due to moderating sales and the lower Australian dollar raising import prices.
Even companies that are trading well, such as Solomon Lew's Premier Investments, have complained about market conditions. Mr Lew recently said tough retail conditions were "unprecedented in my over 50 years' experience of the ups and downs of retail cycles".
!['Shopping is always one of my favourite things' says Merve Senyaman, from Germany.](/web/20170204114254im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/5/7/d/o/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gu4t5w.png/1486154228235.jpg)
And the South African owner of David Jones and clothing chain Country Road said its latest Australian results had been hurt by "an extremely warm winter and consequent very high levels of promotion".
But one retail insider says it is still possible to make a buck in this market and the inflation figures are distorted by discounters, which is a high-profile part of the market but not the largest.
International chains H&M;, Zara, Uniqlo and Topshop are generating big sales in Australia, he says, but not necessarily profitable sales.
The latest accounts show UNIQLO Australia sales have surged 47 per cent to $174.5 million, sales at H&M; have skyrocketed 139 per cent to $161.9 million and Zara Australia sales have jumped 24 per cent to $221.9 million.
Value matters
Although shoppers are driven by discounts, the retail insider says customers will still pay full price if they don't want to miss out on something they love.
And while mid-market retailers seem to be under the gun – the collapsed Pumpkin Patch, for example – the retailer says those with "unique" products continue to make money.
"You've got to have something that stands out," he says. "You've got to stand for something."
Shopper Merve Senyaman agrees. The German national tells Fairfax Media now is a good time to shop for women's clothes.
"Why not? The weather is nice, and Melbourne is a great city, so shopping is always one of my favourite things, and I think it's in general also a good time for shopping. There is no bad time for shopping."
- with Jessica Carrascalao Heard
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