Trading Hours

[Norman]

There's a lot more 24/7 stores being opened around Adelaide, especially the CBD.

[Cruise]

How can a public holiday be a holiday if the public are working?

[Aidan]

Shop Trading Hours
ADELAIDE METROPOLITAN AREA SHOPPING HOURS FROM 26 October 2003

As from Sunday 26 October 2003 non-exempt shops in the city and suburbs (Greater Adelaide Shopping District - includes City, Glenelg and other suburbs) are permitted, under the Shop Trading Hours Act 1977, to remain open until 9pm on all weekdays (excluding public holidays) and until 5pm on Saturdays. In addition shops can trade between the hours of 11am and 5pm on all Sundays (excluding Easter Sunday).

The Shop Trading Hours Act 1977 regulates the trading hours of retail shops in South Australian 'shopping districts'.

These 'shopping districts' consist of:

• * The Greater Adelaide Shopping District (Adelaide's Central Business District, the Glenelg tourist precinct and the metropolitan area generally)
  * 37 proclaimed shopping districts located in country areas

Shops in the Greater Adelaide Shopping District can trade:

• * until 9:00 pm Mondays to Fridays
  * until 5:00 pm on Saturdays
  * between 11:00 am and 5:00 pm on Sundays

Shops in proclaimed shopping districts can trade until:

• * 6:00 pm Mondays to Wednesdays and Fridays
  * 9:00 pm on Thursdays
  * 5:00 pm on Saturdays

How did we get into this crazy situation? A few years ago Glenelg had totally deregulated trading hours, as befitted such an important tourist destination. Now, to the detriment of nearly everyone, it's been robbed of its advantage! I don't know if there was much of an outcry when these rules were brought in, but when I returned to Adelaide a fortnight later (after a few years in London) there was no sign of protest - indeed the first I knew of restrictions having been imposed on Glenelg was when I went to Glenelg and discovered that even Coles was shut.

And worse still are the City trading hours. I'm often in the City in the evening, and sometimes want to buy things. It's extremely annoying having to do all my shopping before 9pm and having to carry it around with me after that just because of some stupid regulations that force the shops to shut for three hours! Yes there are small shops that stay open longer, but they generally charge twice as much - I suspect they'd lower their prices if they had more competition!

And if you want to have dinner in the City, there are several food courts that are quite good value... as long as it's a Friday! The rest of the week your choices are more limited.

I don't mind having restricted trading hours in the suburbs - there are arguments for and against it. But in the City and Glenelg, restricted trading hours are an unjustified nuisance!

[monotonehell]

How did we get into this crazy situation? A few years ago Glenelg had totally deregulated trading hours, as befitted such an important tourist destination. Now, to the detriment of nearly everyone, it's been robbed of its advantage! I don't know if there was much of an outcry when these rules were brought in, but when I returned to Adelaide a fortnight later (after a few years in London) there was no sign of protest - indeed the first I knew of restrictions having been imposed on Glenelg was when I went to Glenelg and discovered that even Coles was shut.

And worse still are the City trading hours. I'm often in the City in the evening, and sometimes want to buy things. It's extremely annoying having to do all my shopping before 9pm and having to carry it around with me after that just because of some stupid regulations that force the shops to shut for three hours! Yes there are small shops that stay open longer, but they generally charge twice as much - I suspect they'd lower their prices if they had more competition!

And if you want to have dinner in the City, there are several food courts that are quite good value... as long as it's a Friday! The rest of the week your choices are more limited.

I don't mind having restricted trading hours in the suburbs - there are arguments for and against it. But in the City and Glenelg, restricted trading hours are an unjustified nuisance!

Not just picking on you Aidan, but you encapsulated what I'm talking about. Most stores are open when the majority of people want to shop. If we relaxed opening hours totally (which I'm not against) traders would still not open 24/7. They'd open when they make enough money to justify being open. Food courts are a great example, a lot of the traders in the CBD's food courts choose not to open on a Sunday because they don't see enough trade. There are however smaller food courts that are open during the evening (Hawker's Corner for example).

It all comes down to economics, as I explained earlier it costs money to have a store open for trading, you must pay for electricity, staff and etc, if you're only seeing a few customers an hour it's not worth it. When the deregulation of a few years ago occurred we saw MANY supermarkets choose to open to midnight. Since then the majority have scaled back to 9pm weeknights as it just didn't pay to be open later, again their choice.

If you're running a business you're not going to lose money just to service the small number of individuals who can't organise themselves to get to a shop the 86 of the 168 hours in a week they are open (that's more than half the week).

[Aidan]

Not just picking on you Aidan, but you encapsulated what I'm talking about. Most stores are open when the majority of people want to shop. If we relaxed opening hours totally (which I'm not against) traders would still not open 24/7. They'd open when they make enough money to justify being open.

...And the shops that are currently open from midnight to 9pm would be open 24/7. Of course the majority of traders would shut for the night, but there are enough evening customers to keep some City shops open. When I was in London, some (not all) of the supermarkets there remained open all night.

Food courts are a great example, a lot of the traders in the CBD's food courts choose not to open on a Sunday because they don't see enough trade. There are however smaller food courts that are open during the evening (Hawker's Corner for example).

If they don't want to open on Sunday, that's their business, but it seems unlikely that many would make a commercial decision to close an hour before so many people eat!

It all comes down to economics, as I explained earlier it costs money to have a store open for trading, you must pay for electricity, staff and etc, if you're only seeing a few customers an hour it's not worth it. When the deregulation of a few years ago occurred we saw MANY supermarkets choose to open to midnight. Since then the majority have scaled back to 9pm weeknights as it just didn't pay to be open later, again their choice.

If that's the case, why did they bother reregulating opening hours?

If you're running a business you're not going to lose money just to service the small number of individuals who can't organise themselves to get to a shop the 86 of the 168 hours in a week they are open (that's more than half the week).

But if you're running a business in the City, you should have the opportunity to make money from the large number of individuals in the vicinity. And it's not just about those who can't organise themselves to get to a shop during the hours that most are open, it's about making it more convenient for those who are there at the time, and would otherwise have to make a special journey just to get to the shops.

[monotonehell]

If they don't want to open on Sunday, that's their business, but it seems unlikely that many would make a commercial decision to close an hour before so many people eat!

Because all of their trade is the lunchtime office people and the Friday night/Saturday shoppers, where there's a great quantity of patronage. They close at 4 or 5pm because all of their trade has gone home. Being single and having no life I eat dinner in the CBD most nights, there's plenty of places other than food courts where you can get a decent meal (Roll&Roll in Grenfell Plaza *drool* or any of the places in Rundle, Gouger, Hutt, O'Connell, Melbourne Streets - the list goes on).

If that's the case, why did they bother reregulating opening hours?

I dunno - I'm in favour of deregulating them, but I'm trying to get the idea across that even if you do, your beloved food court traders wont stay open amongst others.

But if you're running a business in the City, you should have the opportunity to make money from the large number of individuals in the vicinity. And it's not just about those who can't organise themselves to get to a shop during the hours that most are open, it's about making it more convenient for those who are there at the time, and would otherwise have to make a special journey just to get to the shops.

As I keep saying - the stores will stay open if there is enough business to warrant it. There are a lot of convenience stores, with a different business model (lower overheads, higher prices) that cater to the lower quantity of people who need to shop outside of regular hours.

To misquote a former treasurer: "It's the economy, stupid."

[Aidan]

But if you're running a business in the City, you should have the opportunity to make money from the large number of individuals in the vicinity. And it's not just about those who can't organise themselves to get to a shop during the hours that most are open, it's about making it more convenient for those who are there at the time, and would otherwise have to make a special journey just to get to the shops.

As I keep saying - the stores will stay open if there is enough business to warrant it. There are a lot of convenience stores, with a different business model (lower overheads, higher prices) that cater to the lower quantity of people who need to shop outside of regular hours.

Keeping saying it doesn't make it true. The regulations are preventing the shops from staying open despite there being enough business to warrant it. It's not as if there's insufficient business to keep Coles in Grote Street open after 9pm despite there being sufficient business to have it open from midnight onwards! And those convenience stores stay open because they are small enough to be exempt from the regulations.

To misquote a former treasurer: "It's the economy, stupid."

I thought that was a US political analyst explaining why Bill Clinton got reelected?

[Ho Really]

The economy would obviously be the main driver (when small business and consumers can afford it), but how much of a factor would population density be? Like the population target for the CBD and surrounds, as an example?

Cheers

[Shuz]

Let the economics do its thing. If a store generates enough business for it to stay open late, then let it be so. If it doesn't, it closes. And what's with the mentality 'Oh people won't shop at 2am, because I don't.' Everyone's different - some people like being up at night, others don't. Some people find it easier to work night shifts (works with their routine), and there is always someone who shops at 2am. Grandma's hungry for tea & scotch fingers, teenagers thirsty for Gatorade, whatever the need. It should be de-regulated completely, and left to the business operator to determine it's own success. After all, its a free market right? Enough with these nanny-state measures.

[Ho Really]

...and left to the business operator to determine it's own success. After all, its a free market right?

Shuz, don't get too emotional, and get the its and it's right.

Cheers

[Shuz]

Heres an emotionally unattached eSlap for you.

[Pat28]

...and left to the business operator to determine it's own success. After all, its a free market right?

Shuz, don't get too emotional, and get the its and it's right.

Cheers

Ah, English a wonderful language, confusing the masses for over a millennium
now, slightly off topic - how does one pronounce this letter: "Z"

[Aidan]

Ah, English a wonderful language, confusing the masses for over a millennium
now, slightly off topic - how does one pronounce this letter: "Z"

Why don't we make it multiple choice:

a) Zed (that's what they said at school)
b) Zee (that's what they said on Sesame Street)
c) Zzzz (I don't know what they said, as I was asleep when they said it)
d) Zed (because steel sections of a similar shape are known as zeds
e) Zee (Zed's dead, baby, Zed's dead!)

[Norman]

What about Dragon Ball Z (zee), although I did say "Zed" all the time to piss my friends off.

[Pat28]

Back to trading hours, something must be done to stop Adelaide dying at 6pm on the weekends