Tenants and landlords disagree on mall priorities
Think the road ahead is clear for malls and shopping centers needing to win over web shoppers and millennials? Think again.
FTI Consulting and Oxford Economics surveyed 90 retailers and 30 center owners and REIT principals and found them miles apart on the answers to such issues as mall traffic, new center design, and changing demographics.
Nine out of 10 property owners put the onus on retailers’ to build new stores to improve sales. Only six of 10 retailers agree. At the same time, 63% of tenants see competitive pricing and promotion affecting their receipts, while just 17% of landlords see that as the problem.
While scores of books and countless articles have been written about the affect digitally-savvy millennials are having on the future of brick-and-mortar retail, owners and renters are far apart on the depth of their influence. Only four of 10 retailers see demographics as having a large impact on register rings, compared to 7 out of 10 mall and center owners.
That discrepancy in evaluation appears to go hand-in-hand with this one: 60% of landlords think customers are shopping less often in stores while only 37% of retailers do.
“Our research suggests that many retailers are in denial about deep and pervasive shifts in consumer trends affecting the state of the industry,” said Christa Hart, a senior managing director at FTI Consulting.
Retailers surveyed had either regional or corporate-level decision-making authority about their company’s real estate and leasing decisions.
FTI Consulting and Oxford Economics surveyed 90 retailers and 30 center owners and REIT principals and found them miles apart on the answers to such issues as mall traffic, new center design, and changing demographics.
Nine out of 10 property owners put the onus on retailers’ to build new stores to improve sales. Only six of 10 retailers agree. At the same time, 63% of tenants see competitive pricing and promotion affecting their receipts, while just 17% of landlords see that as the problem.
While scores of books and countless articles have been written about the affect digitally-savvy millennials are having on the future of brick-and-mortar retail, owners and renters are far apart on the depth of their influence. Only four of 10 retailers see demographics as having a large impact on register rings, compared to 7 out of 10 mall and center owners.
That discrepancy in evaluation appears to go hand-in-hand with this one: 60% of landlords think customers are shopping less often in stores while only 37% of retailers do.
“Our research suggests that many retailers are in denial about deep and pervasive shifts in consumer trends affecting the state of the industry,” said Christa Hart, a senior managing director at FTI Consulting.
Retailers surveyed had either regional or corporate-level decision-making authority about their company’s real estate and leasing decisions.