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According to the real estate platform Lamundi, in 2020 some 2,500 commercial premises closed throughout the country. The most affected brands were luxury, fashion, food courts, furniture stores, gyms and restaurants.
Basic necessities stores were the least impacted, as 70 percent of people went out strictly to what was necessary.
However, in order to survive within the commercial developments they had to adapt to the new trends of marketing with the eCommerce and the delivery.
With the unexpected arrival of Covid-19 and the authorities’ measures to mitigate the impact of the health crisis, a series of activities such as the free movement of people were prevented, affecting the normal operation of shopping centers. According to him Director of Reail Listín de Colliers International México, Ricardo Sánchez, The most affected sector was the one dedicated to fashion, and in contrast, the self-service and supply stores for the home, products and food, were the most benefited; however, they had to steer towards new market trends and prioritize consumer needs.
Shopping malls in Mexico during the pandemic
Data from Colliers 1H 2021 Commercial Market Summary show that by June 2021, the inventory in shopping centers in Mexico amounted to more than 800 properties.
The Center of the country is where the largest profitable area is concentrated (31 percent), followed by the Metropolitan area (28 percent). And within the areas, the Power Centers and the Fashion Mall are the properties with the highest participation.
By March 2020, sales of retail dedicated to fashion fell 20 percent and for April and May they plummeted 85 and 90 percent. However, basic need developments were the least impacted.
Since 2010, Alejandro Escalante, CEO of WeBuild and Central C, has been in charge of opening shopping centers for medium and small communities, which seek to meet the day-to-day needs of families.
“The commercial developments where we are are developments that have basic need services from a dry cleaner, a parcel, a greengrocer, a cafeteria and most of them are on digital platforms, call it Uber, Rappi, DiDi Food, which made their sales not they will be paused 100 percent as in fashion malls or large shopping centers ”, assures the General Director of WeBuild in an exclusive interview with Merca 2.0.
The “delivery“, The salvation of shopping centers during the pandemic
Shopping centers are showing an accelerated recovery and it is expected that by the end of 2021 their occupancy will be at prepandemic levels, says Colliers.
However, the new consumption habits of a home economy made e-commerce take over.
Kantar data say that, 70 percent of people during the pandemic went out strictly for what was necessary, such as banking or supply activities.
Consequently, the eCommerce in Mexico it reached a value of 316,000 million pesos, which is equivalent to 9 percent of the total retail national, indicates the Mexican Association of Online Sales (AMVO). The main reasons for buying online are: finding products that are not available in physical stores (60 percent); receive home purchases (60 percent); save time (57 percent); avoid crowds in physical stores (55 percent); and compare prices and varieties (55 percent).
In this context and in order that the shopping centers of first necessity did not have more casualties, they had to add to their business models the delivery.
For Alejandro Escalante, General Director of WeBuild, one of the ways in which it was possible to encourage brands to endure in commercial developments were the platforms of delivery.
“If before they sold 40 percent on digital platforms and 60 percent in the branch, the numbers changed and their sales were not affected, and that means that we continue with large volumes of occupation.”
The pandemic was a great opportunity for restaurants, shops and businesses to take advantage of the digital world and grow, the staple shopping centers began to market their products through e-commerce platforms, marketplaces and delivery apps. However, the shopping centers were not prepared in infrastructure for the entry of these new market trends.
Today, Alejandro Escalante, CEO of WeBuild, considers it essential to understand the needs of brands. Therefore, within its objectives are that digital platforms are part of shopping centers.
“What do I mean? That when the motorcycle comes from the Uber car, the delivery man also has an experience, it is very common for him to arrive with his backpack but there is no parking area for the motorcycle, there are times when it takes longer to get to the house or to the delivery to which it goes because the development is not designed for the needs of eCommerce, all this has generated gaps in the developments ”.
With the implementation of new models and workflows in staple business developments, brands will be prepared for the new era of retail, that meets consumer demands and increases your value proposition.
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