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SITTING AT HOME

For the past two years, Russian retailers have been living on the "eternal front line" of constant sales, flaming red price tags of shopping centers and never ending unique special offers. "The current crisis is not a temporary phenomenon; sales have become absolutely necessary for the Russian middle class," says Anna Panyukova, Head of Retail Services at JLL. Everyone should get used to the new reality. Now, for example, even after the sales are over, you can see the inscription "Sales inside" on the facade of the store. In Europe and America, this is the absolute norm. For retailers operating in the medium/medium minus segment, this is already one of the necessary conditions: such a customer is waiting for discounts.

 Most of the market players «played » in discounts, agrees Natalia Chinenova, chief consultant of Fashion Consulting Group on business technologies in retail. "On the other hand, the size of the discount to increase sales in a situation where consumer behavior has changed no longer plays a special role," Ms. Chinenova is convinced. – If the goods are not needed, then they are not needed even for free. It is today that customer activity is influenced by the level of service, additional services, brand awareness and trust in it. Consumers will be ready to go to those stores to which they are loyal. At the same time, the price is, of course, a necessary but insufficient condition for customer loyalty.

The Russian commercial real estate market has undergone a transformation of developers, who for the first time in history take a significant part in the business of tenants. "Previously, landlords pursued the sole goal of renting out the premises under the best commercial conditions, today they approach the issues of renting space differently: this is a well-thought-out concept, everything is commensurate with the specific tasks of a particular operator," says Dina Postolenko, executive director of the Department of commercial real estate at Colliers International. The landlord as a whole has become much more competent, he establishes a strong feedback with the tenant and successfully interacts with him. Therefore, we observe an obvious positive dynamic in professional relationships."

In addition, against the background of the crisis, "deeply buried" formats began to develop in shopping centers, first of all, entertainment, which was not previously in demand and popular. "Sitting at home" is the main reason for the development of such concepts, the players note. "The so-called average buyer has become much less likely to travel outside the city, and shopping centers have taken over entertainment and educational functions," says Dina Postolenko. Restaurants and cafes in shopping malls feel great. The ratio has changed dramatically – customers began to spend more on entertainment and food than on clothes and shoes ».

In addition, due to the All-Russian "equalization of healthy lifestyle", fitness centers, dance studios, yoga, nutrition courses and detox laboratories began to occupy the premises of closed or relocated stores. Among the operators of shopping centers, specialized service services and beauty salons are increasingly found, for example, barbershops and browbar, CBRE reports. "It is gratifying to see that all shopping centers, which are leaders in occupancy, have responded to the crisis by adapting their concepts to the new realities of the market: either it is the improvement of the food court zone, or the expansion of the entertainment zone, or the rotation of tenants, there is a use of the opportunities of the market situation in order to fill projects with high-quality tenants, for which there were no sites before," reports Anna Panyukova from JLL.

To be continued

Author: Ekaterina Reutskaya

Photo: Shutterstock.com