looking beyond covid-凯发国际真人

shanghai, december 8, 2020 ——cushman & wakefield recently released the report - looking beyond covid-19: retail outlet malls – business bounce-back strategies for direct-sell bricks-and-mortar retail in china. according to outlets lingxiu data, at the end of 2019, 203 retail outlet malls were in operation in china.

shaun brodie, head of occupier research, greater china, cushman & wakefield, said: “judging from the overall growth in 2019, china’s retail outlet mall sector has maintained robust development momentum. however, as the overall retail environment is changing due to the impact of technology, the buying preferences of young shoppers and the covid-19 epidemic, retail outlet mall developers in china are understandably moving more cautiously regarding new developments and many are altering their past business operating methods and procedures to remain competitive now and in the future.”

number of newly completed retail outlet malls and amount of newly completed retail outlet mall space in china (2015-2019)

 

during the lockdown period at the beginning of this year, many retail outlet malls in china saw their business suffer due to a lack of customer footfall traffic. during this time period, many retail outlet malls temporarily closed. however, into february, the general lockdown was lifted across many cities in china as the country’s economy opened up. as the economy opened up, so retail outlet malls across china began reopening.

as soon as retail outlet malls in china recommenced business, many quickly understood the commercial landscape had changed. for example, within their physical footprint, if a cinema was present, it had to remain closed due to general public social distancing measures. these same measures were also applied to any catering establishment found in the mall. some had to remain closed, while others could only operate at minimal customer capacity.

virus control and health and safety were other issues that retail outlet malls in china had to contend with during pre-reopening and post-reopening. at the initial period after reopening, customer confidence in the health and safety measures undertaken by retail property landlords, including retail outlet mall landlords, was very important.

during the outbreak and under the lockdown period, physical customer footfall traffic  to retail outlet malls in china was drastically reduced. to ensure business continued during this period, retail marketing and sales had to be quickly transformed by utilising technology and going online, with many related retailers and retail outlet malls utilising live broadcasting and short video product sales promotions to reach out to customers.

in terms of future retail outlet store development in china, a number of factors are expected to come into play, including the furthering of health and safety and offline/online marketing and sales methods and platforms.

what’s more, raising the shopping experience by offering the customer a personalised experience, highly interactive engagement, and convenience in all shapes and forms will come to the fore. going forward, this can be done in many ways, including:
1. providing a bespoke ‘white glove’ service to each in-store customer;
2. greater retail digitalisation and data intelligence utilisation;
3. the greater use of fifth-generation network technology (5g)-enabled in-store technology; 
4. stimulating retail outlet malls activities and events, and;
5. the establishment and use of set-aside areas to trial products and build a ‘customer community’.

 

duke zhen, managing director, retail services, china, cushman & wakefield, said: “despite the challenge of the pandemic around the world, retail outlet malls in china have ushered in new development opportunities. by expanding the product range variety, enhancing supporting f&b choices, and better combining with emerging retail models and channels such as live broadcasts, retail outlet malls can emerge to offer a ‘micro vacation’ choice for urban consumers.


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about cushman & wakefield
cushman & wakefield (nyse: cwk) is a leading global real estate services firm that delivers exceptional value for real estate occupiers and owners. cushman & wakefield is among the largest real estate services firms with approximately 53,000 employees in 400 offices and 60 countries. across greater china, 22 offices are servicing the local market. the company won four of the top awards in the euromoney survey 2017, 2018 and 2020 in the categories of overall, agency letting/sales, valuation and research in china. in 2019, the firm had revenue of $ 8.8 billion across core services of property, facilities and project management, leasing, capital markets, valuation and other services. to learn more, visit www.cushmanwakefield.com or follow @cushwake on twitter.

for further information, please contact:

mandy qian
director, marketing & communications
tel: 86 10 8519 8040
mandy.qian@cushwake.com