Australia is a great place to do business, demographer Bernard Salt told the assembled delegates at the National Franchise Convention 2021-22.
The first plenary speaker in the Melbourne event shared statistics and trends that indicate Australia is in a premium position for business growth post-Covid.
“I don’t think we’re going to get back to normal,” he said. “I believe there is a better Australia. Is Australia a good place to invest? Is Australia a good bet? Unequivocally, yes, it is.”
Salt highlighted changes that have influenced the post-pandemic future, including migration, working trends, digitisation and the growth of the Millennial demographic.
As a country we are a society dependent on foreign skills and labour and with net migration returning in the current financial year, based on recorded figures until March 2022, the growth outlook is positive, he said.
About 8 million of our population of 25 million are immigrants with Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane all showing about 70 per cent of their populations born overseas.
Immigrants want to prove themselves, to attain symbols of prosperity, and this fits with the Aussie lifestyle profile.
“We spend our wealth on housing, superannuation, lifestyle. Does your business connect in with these core, gut Australian values? This is a driving force to business success in Australia.”
Gradual changes and shifts due to Covid are shaping key elements of Australian life, Salt said.
Salt, who heads up The Demographics Group, pointed to the percentage change in retail sales in Australia for 13 categories over 10 years based on ABS data which reveals hardware, building and garden supplies were top at 81 per cent, with recreational goods improving by 76 per cent.
These sectors reflect the focus of Australian lifestyle.
Demographics show that there is a new stage in the lifecycle, with adolescence now extending from age 13 to 29, and senior citizens now move into a retired period in their 70s and are not considered elderly until they reach their 80s.
Australians’ working profile will settle into a hybrid model with about 10 per cent working from home, predicted Salt.
As a result, people can justify a higher level of income going into their home and that also shapes the post-Covid 20-minute city.
Digitisation 101 has changed how we engage with technology, with older Australians learning how to download and use apps, thanks to the launch of the government’s Covid Safe app.
The fastest growing jobs during the pandemic were aged/disabled carers up 27 per cent, storepersons up 32 per cent, database security specialists up 73 per cent, software and app programmers up 15 per cent.
Another trend to consider is that people take expectations of world standards and apply them to your business. For instance, applying the expectations of fast service standard in takeaway to other situations, such as a post office queues.
“Worry about anything that lifts the bar,” said Salt.
