Website visits are an imperfect way of measuring shopper demand...

Website visits are an imperfect way of measuring shopper demand because you or I might visit one site 50 times in a month if we wanted to see if there was a sale.

That said, in May 2023, similarweb.com suggests myer.com.au had 14.8 million visits in May 2023, up from 13.1m in April 2023, so a rise of 13.39pc. WES' Target isn't always a direct competitor, but it is in important apparel (even if the price of ranged items can be dissimilar): Target's hits only rose 8.05pc.

davidjones.com was up less than five per cent, from 5.4m to 5.7m. Perhaps not a fair comparison, as it has fewer outlets than MYR, but it is (supposedly) a major competitor.

While I wouldn't rush to draw conclusions as we don't know the conversion rate from a 'hit' to an in-store or online purchase, and nor what consumers spend money on, or how much is the median sale, it's positive for MYR more are looking as hopefully many end up purchasing.

MYR may not be perfect, and Labor's recession with significant inflation and continuing interest rate rises will affect it and most retail competitors whether in-store or online, but the company frequently change its website displays and from personal experience, the range of clothing it carries is good. What I like most is usually the quality is acceptable, and while I've never had to take back an item, those who d) (hopefully not abusing the process) know that provided they've met the Ts and Cs, MYR will always refund eligible items.

The same can't confidently be said of online retailers like kogan.com, from whom I run a mile.

I consider it too early to buy back in as further interest rate rises are a certainty. Today we have the Saturday 'Herald Sun' devoting a page to how shoppers can economise. This is akin to telling us all 'not to spend any money on discretionary items' so the problem for MYR and numerous other retailers is how a herd mentality then develops and even a percentage of the 20-25 per cent who are affluent close down their smartphone apps os fail to remove their credit or debit cards from wallets and purses.