Purchases are centralized – Kommersant

The return of consumers to emotional shopping, the opening of outlets of new brands and the reopening of previously closed stores supported attendance at the largest shopping centers in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In April, the traffic in the objects turned out to be 3% and 14% higher than last year, respectively. The influx of buyers will help mall operators to return to the practice of indexing rental rates, but in the long term it will be difficult for large objects to maintain traffic.

For three weeks in April, the Mall Index (number of visitors per 1,000 sq. m of retail space) of shopping centers with an area of ​​80,000 sq. m. m of Moscow and St. Petersburg increased by 3% and 14% yoy, respectively. Such data is provided by Focus Technologies. As analysts note, if in small regional shopping centers a positive trend was formed at the end of 2022, then in the segment of “weekend objects” a positive trend has emerged only now.

The average value of the Mall Index in Moscow for all shopping centers in April exceeded the figure for the same period last year by 2%, in St. Petersburg – by 4%.

Head of research and consulting Focus Technologies Mikhail Vasiliev recalls that last year in April, consumer activity dropped sharply after the hype a month earlier. “In March, people were actively visiting malls, making atypical purchases due to fears of a shortage of goods and the desire to protect funds in the face of rising prices,” he recalls. For the largest shopping centers, where a significant share was traditionally occupied by global brands that reduced their work in Russia, the drawdown was more pronounced. According to the head of the CORE.XP retail department, Marina Malakhatko, now the most noticeable increase in traffic is in the largest shopping centers in areas with dense residential development and near transport hubs.

Mr. Vasiliev explains the current dynamics by the realization of pent-up demand. “Many consumers have come to terms with the departure of some brands, have stopped waiting for their return and are ready to select a replacement,” says Evgenia Khakberdieva, regional director of the retail real estate department at NF Group.

Large objects are gradually filled not only with new tenants, but also with relaunched stores under new brands.

Commonwealth Partnership (CMWP) partner Olga Antonova also noticed the positive dynamics, linking it to announcements about the reopening of previously closed stores. Marina Malakhatko adds to this the change of seasons and the revival of business activity. And Alexey Vanchugov, managing partner of Vanchugov & Partners, notes the stabilization of the news agenda, thanks to which consumers have returned to emotional shopping in shopping centers. “During acute crisis periods, activity traditionally flows online, but now demand is returning,” he says.

Olga Antonova predicts that shopping center traffic will stabilize at current levels in the coming weeks. “A seasonal decline may occur in the summer, but August-September indicators will become key for the market,” she points out. Marina Malakhatko believes that the long-term trend for the largest shopping centers remains disappointing: objects will have to revise their formats or regularly update concepts to maintain traffic. Neighborhood malls are more resilient, as they bid on goods and services that are cheaper to buy at home, she says.

The current influx of visitors may also have a positive impact on the business of shopping centers. Yevgenia Khakberdieva explains that the increase in traffic may be followed by a steady increase in the turnover of tenants – a traditional reason for increasing rental rates. According to Alexey Vanchugov, during the period of reduced traffic, the main subject of negotiations between tenants and operators of shopping centers was the rejection of the annual indexation of rates by 5-7%. In the past two years, only 30% of contracts have been indexed, and direct discounts have been rare, he says. Now, according to Mr. Vanchugov’s forecasts, the operators of shopping centers can return to the planned indexation. Retailers, according to Ms. Malakhatko, have already become more willing to open stores.

Alexandra Mertsalova