EXTENDING HOURS , EXPANDING OPPORTUNITIES : MAINSTREAMING TWILIGHT TRADE IN MELBOURNE
By Madeline Jovanov
INTRODUCTION Since the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in late 2021 , the rhythm of Melbourne ’ s city life and visitation patterns have shifted . Notable changes have emerged , particularly in pedestrian activity . Office workers now predominantly commute from Tuesday to Thursday , with Thursday becoming the new “ Friday .” Commuter activity continues to rise , reaching its highest levels since March 2020 . Visitor numbers have also hit record highs , surpassing 2019 benchmarks , with people staying later into the evening to attend world-class sporting events , live music , and theatre performances . The city is becoming especially busy between 5pm and 10pm , with more foot traffic during these hours than before noon ( Melbourne Economy Snapshot # 7 January-June 2024 ). Retail spending after work hours in June 2024 was 19 % higher than in June 2023 , reflecting a significant increase in nighttime activity .
Globally , shopping destinations are aligning their business hours with customer preferences , integrating retail seamlessly into the fabric of city life , both day and night . International best practices show that the retail , hospitality , and events sectors must collaborate to attract and retain consumers , fostering growth as the economy transitions from daytime to nighttime activity . ( See Figure 1 )
Due to the rise in nighttime activity since COVID , the City of Melbourne , in collaboration with the Australian Retailers Association ( ARA ), and supported by the Victorian Government ’ s Melbourne City Revitalisation Fund , launched the Mainstreaming Twilight Trade project . The goal is to shift retailers ' perceptions of twilight trade and encourage them to adjust their hours to align with new visitation patterns . Many retail businesses in the city operate their businesses
Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm , and often will have condensed hours on a weekend or a full closure , missing the opportunity for the record high visitation figures the municipality is seeing .
RESEARCH AND ENGAGEMENT The project formally ran from August 2023 to April 2024 in multiple phases to better understand how the city ’ s retailers operate and whether there was an appetite for change . The first component related to research and engagement to understand the appetite from city businesses to make the change and commit to trading in twilight hours .
The ARA conducted surveys and a Google scrape of all retail businesses in the city to determine who currently operates after 5pm to form a base to work with . Larger retailers and department stores were found to trade between 67 and 101 hours
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