MRI Software’s Retail Insights & Benchmarks – Retail Parks

MRI Software’s OnLocation solution has a long history, spanning over two decades, in providing our clients with industry leading insights for UK Retail Parks, Shopping Centres and High Streets with our dataset beginning back in October 2007.

Since then, we have continued to innovate both the technology and the reporting. This blog post takes a deep dive into the data and tech enabling retail park growth today, so how do we do we actually do it?

Chris Clutterbuck, OnLocation Solutions Architect explains

‘As with all of our solutions we use video-based technology, with our AI software trained to understand the number of pedestrian movements in a High Street or Shopping Centre environment and vehicles entering and leaving a retail park. With developments in our AI capabilities over time, we not only collect the overall volume pedestrian and vehicle data but also have the ability to classify the vehicle into a type – car, bus, truck, motorcycle or bicycle’

The data we produce down to the hour on volume of activity allows our clients to understand trends and benchmark that data against the region, UK and by square footage in Retail Parks and Shopping Centres, really putting their own footfall into context.

TRENDS

Our coverage of Retail Parks across the UK allows us to provide insights and benchmarking into their performance. I asked our Retail & Insights Director Jenni Matthews what she has been seeing in the data for Retail Parks so far this year, “There’s no hiding the fact that retail parks have remained resilient over the years. More so from 2014 to 2019, witnessing an average rise in footfall of +1.1% in activity and that has remained relatively steady to this day. What this highlights is the ongoing investment being made into these destinations which we’ve seen in the transformations over the years; retail parks have gone from being just a place to shop at to what it is today; an all-encompassing destination which boasts strong brands, leisure and hospitality offerings for the consumer in one place.

At the end of 2023, footfall remained, on average +1.3% higher year on year and only -3.7% lower than 2019 levels which reinforces their resiliency and ability to adapt in a rapidly changing environment to meet changes in consumer behaviour and needs.”

INNOVATION

As landlords and agents look for innovative ways to continue to lease units in retail parks and future proof them, we’ve seen a different type of tenant move in where historically it would have been reserved for big ticket retailers and DIY. The rise of cafes, soft play, climbing walls and even gyms now residing in retail parks means there will be a significant change in how those parks are used and a move away from traditional ‘retail hours’ trading patterns. High street stores are seeing this as an opportunity to invest in a larger space which provides a much better customer experience, and ultimately supports revenue growth.

This is where OnLocation can identify those changes very early on. We always monitor all vehicle and pedestrian entrances into Retail Parks rather than relying on individual retailer store counts to understand retail park activity. We can see how data changes early morning as gym goers head for a workout at 6am or the increase in activity after 8pm because the new restaurant openings are proving a popular addition to the previous retail units that closed at 5pm. Relying on data from individual retailer entrances won’t provide landlords, leasing agents and asset managers with the insights they need as it will only show activity for the times those stores are in operation and not the wider picture.

An article on FT.COM quoted PureGym chief executive Humphrey Cobbold saying

“We are getting access to decent spaces in high quality retail parks where we would not really have got a look in before because there would have been too many retailers bidding for space,”

By using OnLocation for monitoring Retail Parks allows those changes with 24hr gyms opening to see the impact on how the Retail Park is being used, then assisting with attracting new tenants to the park and not reliant on that traditional ‘9-6’ retailer footfall data used on other data sets.

High street chocolatier, Hotel Chocolat, revealed earlier this year its expansion strategy for the next 18 months which involves a continued investment in bricks and mortar with 20 new stores set to open in out-of-town retail parks. Head of Customer Marketing, Amy Harman, explained to Retail Gazette the reason for targeting retail parks is because “that’s where we’re seeing footfall and demand. There’s more intent with consumers. They’re going for a day out and going for an experience”

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT FOR ME?

OnLocation’s footfall data is available to our clients in real-time and can access real-time trends every hour of the day but how do they use the data?

• Assist with new leasing deals: have a data set that allows them to demonstrate changes in Retail Park usage, attracting new and varied tenants
• Align cleaning and maintenance schedules: By understanding the 24hr picture its easier for asset and property managers to see when cleaning or maintenance activities should be in full operation or even reduced driving efficiencies for facilities managers. The data also helps to identify when can car park maintenance can be carried out during the quieter hours.
• Occupancy: By monitoring both entrance and exit of a Retail Park allows an occupancy figure to be produced. That number can then inform how often the Retail Park is hitting its maximum occupancy numbers and if investment is required for more spaces or limits placed on how long visitors can park for.

If you own or manage a Retail Park asset and would like to discuss your requirements for the monitoring and benchmarking of activity 24/7 along with range of other solutions such as our Location Connect tenant communication app and demographics reporting, please get in touch and we can discuss your requirements further.

Subscribe to our free benchmarks for up to the minute footfall data and insights for your retail destination: https://www.mrisoftware.com/uk/register/

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