Retail recovery solidifies with demand returningto 2017 levels.
The retail recovery is in full swing with broad-based improvement across retail property types. Robust economic fundamentals help push retail performance even higher as we approach the end of 2021.
Retail sales have tracked upward for the past three months, and foot traffic at shopping centers is hovering around 25% above 2020 levels.
Pent-up demand and more free cash pushed average transaction value per shopper up 18% more than in 2019.
Online sales did not increase year-over-year for Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday for the first time.
Roughly 41,000 leases have been signed in the first half of 2021, representing 121 million square feet. Net absorption—or actual move-ins during the third quarter— surged 80.4% to 32.2 million square feet.
This year, retailers will open more stores than they close for the first time since 2017. After a net loss of 6,573 stores last year, 900 U.S. retail chains will contribute to net-positive 4,361 new stores this year.
Mall net absorption, which had been negative for six straight quarters, was positive in the third quarter at 0.7 million square feet.
Smaller shopping centers saw a 70.3% surge in net absorption during the third quarter to 14.7 million square feet.
