Up to August 2023, in Spain, the average occupancy of shopping centres stands at 90.4%, with sales and footfall increasing by 9.2% and 9.7%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. In Portugal, there was an increase in sales of 12.8%, an occupancy rate of 94.8% and an increase in footfall of 11.7%.
These figures emerge from the Retail Index report provided by CBRE. The consultancy firm explains that this analysis is based on the management of 50 assets, totalling two million square metres of floor space in both countries.
Within Spain, up to August 2023 and in comparison with 2019, the south of the country stands out with an increase in sales of 10.3%. It is followed by the Central-Levante area with 8.9% and Madrid with 3.5%. By type of activity, fashion and leisure lead with occupancies of 31.7% and 17.6% respectively, while the food and beverage segment occupies 11.1% of the total managed area.
In the case of Portugal, shopping centre space is mainly allocated to fashion (28.8%), furniture and household goods (17.8%) and leisure (12.9%).
"65% of Spanish consumers prefer physical shops for online shopping and more than 50% opt for in-store returns of products purchased via e-commerce".
Paul Santos, Head of Retail at CBRE Iberia, comments: "This growth in occupancy and sales reflects consumer trends in Southern Europe. Our recent European survey shows that 65% of Spanish consumers prefer physical shops for online shopping and more than 50% opt for in-store returns of e-commerce products. At European level, these percentages are 53% and 42% respectively. These figures are evidence of the increase in footfall in shopping centres and underline the resilience of the retail sector in Spain".
Investments in the retail sector during the first half of 2023 amounted to 538 million euros. Private equity, which is traditionally less dependent on high levels of financing, accounted for 33% of the total, compared to 13% in the previous year. Compared to the same period last year, there was a 42% decrease in total investment (excluding the transaction between BBVA and Merlin Properties). The food sector led the investments with 48%, followed by shopping centres (22%), medium-sized parks (16%) and urban retail areas (14%). In terms of investment, international capital accounted for 75% of the total.
