Retail Market Check-Up
Earlier this week, the Property Council welcomed back Urbis Directors Ian Shimmin and Sue Say to provide their annual presentation on the state of play and developing trends bound to affect retail markets, locally, nationally and globally in the year ahead.
The presenters agreed that despite low wage growth, Queensland retail expectations for 2016 are generally positive. Confidence was identified as particularly high in the Brisbane CDB, where the retail offer was significantly expanded over the course of 2015.
Ian noted that the key indicators of the future health of the retail sector are also positive, with savings ratios still at historically high levels, however, he added they are currently in a gradual easing phase. Similarly, tourist levels were identified as reaching record highs, but are still being dwarfed by the number of Australians travelling overseas. Despite the low Australian dollar, tourism levels remain in a ‘net outflow’ situation, meaning less overall capture of the tourism retail dollar.
Ian and Sue explored recent movements in retail spending, providing invaluable insights into the retail sector opportunities developing in 2016. Mini-Majors are trending in Regional Centres while Discount Department Stores and Department Stores are in decline. The ongoing transformation in the food offering in retail centres remains a significant sector trend.
Cinemas were highlighted as undergoing strong growth, with improvements in the cinema experience driving the sector’s resurgence. Despite the same level of box office sales, the presenters noted that a higher price point can now be demanded to match the premium offerings.
Online retailing was another area of focus for the presenters as this sector continues to grow, however it was not seen as significant in relation to the overall retail market. The combination of digital and bricks-and-mortar retail experiences was identified as an area of increasing market sophistication to watch over the coming years.
The Property Council sincerely thanks Ian and Sue for their highly informative presentations, and extends its appreciation to join sponsors of the Retail Breakfast Series, Urbis and Yardi, for their ongoing support.
Photos from the event can be found here.
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