RETAIL
Trends in
South Africa
Growth across the Retail Market
BY PRESTON GADDY
A
lthough muted growth is expected for the
sector, retailers targeting the value chain
will continue to show growth slightly higher
than sector averages.
Given the current state of the economy, muted growth
is expected from most retail categories. However,
national fashion retailers will still seek to expand, but
will be far more cautious in their selection of new
sites. Meanwhile, grocery chains continue to target
the mass market and the opportunities in rural and
township areas, however, these developments are
starting to “dry up”. Grocery chains will also seek to
have an increased presence in smaller format stores.
Alternate energy
With constant power outages, shopping centres with
full standby power are now becoming the preferred
choice for many retailers as this means they can
continue trading even during load shedding periods.
Retailers simply cannot afford further downtime in
retail trade, and those landlords that have invested in
standby or alternate energy will have the “value add”
that retailers are seeking.
Monitoring and security
Furthermore, landlords will also investigate more
innovative ways of understanding shopper behaviour
28
Commercial Handbook 2016
via CCTV profiling. There are some interesting
products on the market that profile, for example,
demographics, shopping patterns and conversion
ratios.
Shopping centre security will continue to be a
challenge for most landlords. With the recent spate
of armed robberies at electronic stores, landlords
may be considering whether having these electronics
retailers in their centres is worth the risk.
Online retail
The retail sector remains optimistic with some trends
likely to impact retail in 2015. National chain retailers
will inves