So shopping centres chase innovation

There are 15 new shopping centre projects under construction in Italy, including new openings and expansions. A "moderate growth" trend, as Mario Resca, president of Confimprese, says, commenting on the data of the Retail Real Estate Observatory carried out exclusively by Reno your retail partners on the trend of shopping centres in Italy, highlights a channel that, although mature, shows dynamism and capacity for innovation.

According to the roadmap presented by Gian Enrico Buso, managing partner of Reno your retail partners, another 15 centres will be opened by 2027 in addition to the other 1,346 large retail parks, outlets and shopping centres. Currently, retail parks and the travel channel are developing thanks to +10.1% in the period 2019-2024, while factory outlet centres are declining slightly (-0.6%). Demand from retail chains is evolving and they are currently showing interest in premium and mid-range shopping centres, formats with a small percentage of vacant premises. "Shopping centres are channels of aggregation and must evolve with innovative ideas in order to attract a consumer who shows a cautious attitude in relation to reduced spending power and geopolitical instability," emphasises Mario Resca, president of Confimprese. No wonder that the development of the food&beverage sector and pet&garden, both legacies of the post-covid era, are on the rise. People are moving towards cheaper catering offers without giving up eating out and are showing a renewed interest in animals. These are trends that could become structural and show retailers the way forward in developing their distribution networks'. In October, highlights Osservatorio Catene Reno, a substantial evolution of non-food retail and food & beverage. Since 2021, the 71 chains analysed show how closures, openings and relocations have affected 27% of the almost 16,000 shops. The product sectors with the most intense development dynamics are food & beverage and pet& garden, while the most stable are home, electronics and personal goods. The North-West confirms itself as the fulcrum of development with shopping centres and urban centres, which are the privileged places for retail, but the formulas in the context of vehicular traffic and destination are growing. "The market is going through a phase of profound transformation," points out Gian Enrico Buso, managing partner of Reno your retail partners. "Retail chains are innovating through multiple strategies: new openings, strategic relocations and a new mix of markets and brands, while shopping centres are evolving from pure shopping destinations to true multifunctional territorial hubs. The key to success lies in the ability to anticipate and satisfy new consumer needs". Shopping centre footfall is also changing. The latest PlaceSense data show a +4.8% of visitors on a sample of 160 shopping centres with a +20.5% increase compared to 2021 with an increase in traffic, weekday admissions with a growth in the morning bands at the expense of the evening ones while there is a slight decrease at the weekend.

Relationships between shopping centre owners and their tenants, the tenants putting data at the centre, are also evolving. A kit with guidelines and best practices for shopping centre management has thus been signed, the result of joint work between the two associations launched at the end of 2023 with the aim of making relations between stakeholders more effective and profitable, identifying virtuous behaviour to be adopted in total transparency. Brands are asked to share their purchasing data, but also data on what is ordered online and then picked up in the shop. In turn, the companies running the shopping centres should share data on visitor flows and turnovers to both events and activities and marketing activities. In this way, the parties can get a complete picture, which is the starting point for implementing marketing strategies and other actions to attract new visitors, with a focus on young people, create new services and innovative activities that will benefit all operators. "It is important to establish an ongoing dialogue between landlords and tenants, because the real work together begins once contracts have been signed, finding ways to meet each other's needs,' comments Roberto Zoia, president of Cncc. 'For example, landlords are asked to communicate more, while tenants are expected to participate more in common moments of the centre's life, such as assemblies. Managers and tenants are allies, with the common goal of achieving the best results, I believe it is time to move beyond the idea that they occupy opposing positions, although there have been some tensions in the past, which emerged especially in particularly difficult moments such as Covid or the surge in inflation. The guidelines drawn up together with Confimprese go precisely in this direction, describing virtuous behaviour for all stakeholders, in the knowledge that a healthy relationship can only lead to an improvement in the centres' performance, to the benefit of all parties involved'. For his part, Mario Resca adds: "The agreement with Cncc marks an important turning point, bringing together the entire value chain of those who create, invest in and support shopping centres. It opens up a phase of greater collaboration between retailers and real estate owners for the smooth running of shopping centres and transparency in the sharing of information linked to estimates and final balances by landlords with tenants, so as to allow the latter a more informed participation in meetings," the president of Confimprese points out. Consumption is going through a delicate phase, the dynamics at the point of sale are influenced by a changed attitude of consumers, who are reducing outgoings or moving towards cheaper offers, also due to inflation, which has reduced the purchasing power of families The increasingly strong link with the national association of shopping centres will allow us to support our companies in the development of the distribution network and in supporting consumption".

Shopping centres register around 1.9 billion admissions per year while the total turnover reaches 171 billion. The number of employees amounts to 748,000.