The predicted “twilight” of malls has been strong during the COVID-19 pandemic, when limits in stores have significantly limited their availability to customers. At the same time, e-commerce is growing in popularity, challenging the future of physical sales. But Latest reports indicate that online stores are unlikely to replace traditional stores in the near future. Especially since there are many ideas for changing the format and making it more attractive.
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Stationary trading is still doing well
Forecasts from Euromonitor International, cited in its CBRE report, show that fixed sales will grow by 10.5% over the next four years.
Currently, there are 12.2 million m² of office space in Poland. Commercial space. In the first quarter of 2022, 40.4 thousand m² were put into service. m² and 230 thousand. m² is to be developed later this year. Completed incl. the expansion of Gemini Park in Tychy and the opening of the first phase of the Galeria Karuzela Kołobrzeg project, where there is a DIY store. New business parks also appeared in Jasło, Sierpc and Warka.
As CBRE informs in its report, the majority of newly built facilities are retail parks, which are built primarily in small towns. On the other hand, much smaller shopping centers are currently under construction. Shopping streets are also growing in popularity. The pandemic has increased the attractiveness of nearby retail, service and restaurant businesses. However, this is still a much less developed market than, for example, in Western European countries.
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Customers return to malls
Although fewer and fewer malls are being built, those that are still operational are starting to attract customers again. In March 2022, shopping center footfall, measured by the number of customers per m². of the leasable area, amounted to 99.7 percent. compared to March 2019 – informs the Polish Council of Shopping Centers.
– We are very happy that Poles have voluntarily resumed stationary shopping in malls and pre-pandemic shopping behavior as well as the abolition of person limits in outlets. This is clearly indicated by the results of the number of visitors to shopping centers for the month of March, which we present on the basis of the Footfall Density Index. This is data representative of camera systems counting customers with an accuracy of up to 98%. The data is collected in more than 120 commercial establishments with a total area of more than 4.5 million m², or 35%. the shopping center market in Poland. It is collected and analyzed by the global audit firm PwC – informs Krzysztof Poznański, General Director of the Polish Council of Shopping Centers.
Data on shopping center turnover, analyzed on the basis of the turnover index, shows that in February 2022, it was down 5%. lower than two years earlier. According to CBRE, this decline results, among other things, from the shock caused by the outbreak of inflation and the increase in the cost of living. All of this meant that customers were buying more cautiously and searching for basics more often. Thus, among other things, a significant increase in turnover in the food category.
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New ideas for sale
Paper mills, which are trying to attract customers to their offer, are testing new sales formats, often associated with respect for the environment and sustainable development. Among the tenants of shopping centers and on shopping streets, there are, for example, brands promoting the idea of circular fashion. The popularity of outlets is increasing and the fashion for second-hand products is slowly returning.
An example is the beginning of the CTO chain (with new and used clothes) at the Madison Gallery in Gdańsk or the circular shop “Clothes to Donation”, which appeared in the Wars Sawa Junior department stores in Warsaw. In activities related to environmental protection through, among others, The use of biodegradable packaging or the cooperation with the application Too Good To Go is also involved in restaurants, which increases their attractiveness in the eyes of a large group of customers.