As we are in the middle of the reporting season for the major shopping centre owners (REIT’s), I wanted to shine a spotlight on the shopping centre market to understand the changes across the top 100 shopping centres by size over the past few years. I'm going to share the changes we have been tracking, and what I think the future might look like for these important retail schemes.

2012 was a year of challenges for the retail sector. With the country back in a recession, things were not easy for retailers. Spending was reducing and consumers were extremely cautious as they struggled to pay their bills. The move to online shopping was really starting to take hold and retailers were increasingly investing in digital to cater for the new generation of consumer. This was especially true for fashion retailers, who, according to the British Retail Consortium,were enjoying growth in both online and offline at this point. This would come to a halt in 2016 as the scales tipped in favour of online (Source: FT.com).

Christmas is once again a distant memory - we’ve taken down our trees, put away the decorations and Britain’s festive market stalls have closed until they are dusted off once again at the end of this year. We’ve seen big changes in the last decade in Christmas markets; an increase in number, duration, size, and ultimately popularity, but the key question still remains – are Christmas markets having a significant impact on footfall levels?

I recently attended the launch of the Roasting Plant’s UK store, which to put simply was rather impressive. The main attraction of the launch was the Javabot, which was cleverly designed by the Founder and CEO, Mike Caswell. It is clear that Mike brought out his inner Willy Wonka to develop this intricate system. Javabot stores the beans in a series of clear storage columns, and then when an order comes in, the beans are automatically measured and then “whooshed” into the roaster via bursts of air through clear pneumatic tubes.

After a month of indulgence, the beginning of a new year gives us a chance to start a fresh. January is the month where we all look to make (and break within a couple of weeks) new year resolutions. Dry January is a challenge that is widely accepted in an effort to get fit or to simply make up for all that happened in December. Something that is rapidly increasing in popularity is Veganuary, a challenge which simply involves eating vegan throughout January. 

Wherever you look, whether it is your weekly online shop, your digital wallet on your phone or your Smart TV, it is clear to see that technology is making its way into every aspect of modern life.  

Just one of the trends we have been tracking over this year at LDC is the increasing focus on all things health and wellbeing, which continues to have a profound impact on the market. For example, in May this year, the ONS released 2017 data on alcohol consumption in the UK which indicated a rise in the number of people that claimed to be teetotal in 16-24, 25-44 and 45-64 age groups. (Source: ONS, May 2018). In line with these figures, we recently released data revealing a significant decrease in the number of pubs, a trend most likely to be linked to the changes in drinking behaviour outlined by the ONS.