Out-of-town retail is set to bounce back from the economic gloom and will be more successful than town centres in instigating a retail resurgence, a Verdict survey has claimed.
A wave of investment in town centres will not reverse the migration of retail sales to out-of-town retail parks, Verdict concluded.
Out-of-town sales will grow by 23.2 per cent over the next five years, versus a 0.4 per cent sales growth at town centres, according to Verdict.
Although out-of-town retailing has been harder hit by the downturn than town centres, landlords and retailers have enhanced the out-of-town shopping experience by improving the mix of retailers and facilities on offer, said Verdict.
“Out-of-town retailing will have to become a more attractive shopping location, appealing to a broader spectrum of society and shoppers,” said Verdict Research senior analyst Malcolm Pinkerton. “The key to its future growth lies in improving facilities and a greater choice of shops that collectively generate high levels of footfall, longer dwell times and higher spend per head”.
Pinkerton added that retail parks that develop a mix of retailers, with a higher concentration of fashion and general merchandise retailers, will fare best. Those that include cafés and restaurants will outperform.
According to the report, a glut of new space in town centres will not bring a corresponding increase in sales, “with sales densities and like-for-like performances plummeting”, it stated.
It continued: “Clothing and footwear retailers, one of the main pillars of the high street, will struggle to maintain the growth they have enjoyed in the past, due to increasing competition from out-of-town players.”
Meanwhile, home-related and electricals retailers are moving out of town in search of larger, cheaper space, said Verdict.
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