In 2023, shopping centres recorded 2.5 per cent more visits than in the previous year. Poles were most likely to visit small shopping malls, with between 5,000 and 19,999 sq m of leasable area. In 2023, the number of visits to shopping centres participating in the Retail Institute study increased by 2.5 per cent compared to the 2022 results, but by as much as 10 per cent like for like (the like for like method, “L4L”, allows comparison of the surveyed indicators eliminating calendar shifts – it shows data in 2022 and 2023, having the same number of trading days). This is an excellent result, looking at the challenges the retail industry has faced since the outbreak of the pandemic. The Retail Institute tracked mall attendance in 2023, seeking answers to many of the questions on the minds of the public and business.
“The pandemic, the turmoil caused by armed conflicts, and the economic downturn have significantly altered the needs and thus the habits and behaviour of customers. Dozens of phenomena are having an impact on the health of retail and shopping centre-related businesses. And it will have an increasingly strong one. 2023
as well as the years to come is a time of challenges. We spend our time differently, we work differently, what is important to us is different. Discussions about the future of the planet increasingly translate into restraint in consumption. Minimalist trends are being promoted – from make-up to shopping for clothes or shoes. Brands are bringing in second-hand clothing and investing heavily in reducing the ecological footprint of their operations,” concludes Anna Szmeja, president of the Retail Institute.
Research shows that retail performs better when it offers products, services and experiences that reflect what shoppers want and value. However, the assessment of what we want and expect from retail, service and entertainment venues, the way and the quality of service to us customers, is still overly subjective, rarely supported by reliable analyses. Therefore, it is not uncommon for us to leave the shopping experience feeling disappointed and unsatisfied. Shopping centres and retail chains are doing their best to meet customer expectations, but without the involvement of data analysts in the decision-making process, the growth rate of shopping mall indicators for investors may prove unsatisfactory.
All types of shopping malls recorded increases in 2023. The largest 3.8 per cent (11.5 per cent L4L) increase in visitor numbers was achieved by small shopping centres (5,000 to 19,999 sq m of lettable area), while the smallest were medium-sized malls (20,000 to 39,999 sq m of lettable area). These struggled to maintain their outperformance, as evidenced by a 1.4 per cent year-on-year increase (9.1 per cent L4L). Experts are unanimous in their assessments – this type of facility has been searching for an idea of itself for several years. On the one hand, centres of this format are too large for customers to do their quick and everyday shopping in, while on the other hand they are too small to meet all the needs of increasingly demanding customers. Large shopping malls (> 40,000 sq m of lettable area) have faced many challenges this year to close the year with a 2.9 per cent increase in visitor numbers (10.3 per cent L4L).
Shopping centres need change, which is why the Retail Institute is implementing continuous monitoring of customer shopping behaviour. The study, which uses new technologies including AI (artificial intelligence), combines data from shopping centres and retail chains as well as transactional systems, showing buying patterns across all sales channels. The first reports summarising the situation in shopping centres as well as retail parks, outlet centres (outlets), shopping streets and, above all, online will be available to RI partners as early as this spring.
Source: RI and ISBnews
Photo: Shopping Park Pipera Plaza, LCP Properties
