November 16, 2022 - JLL has released its annual Holiday Retail Survey. JLL Senior Vice President and retail specialist Regan Amato has shared the following insights from a local perspective:
• Local performance and sales numbers among metro Phoenix restaurants, retailers and most services are strong.
• Higher rents, operational costs and construction costs mean that those gains don't equate to a dollar-for-dollar net win, but they are allowing many retailers to still come out ahead.
• This puts Phoenix in a very good position going into the holiday season, which traditionally only further boosts sales.
• From a space perspective, metro Phoenix's vacancy rate is very low, making it a challenge for tenants looking for good space.
• The space we do have is highly diversified and includes the highly popular experiential destinations noted in this survey. Places like Scottsdale Fashion Square, Kierland Commons, Biltmore Fashion Park and Scottsdale Quarter are vibrant locations that have seen an influx of experiential users.
High points of the national JLL report include the following:
• Despite economic headwinds, overall holiday budgets will remain virtually the same as last year
• In-store shopping regains the number one spot after two years, with +63% of U.S. consumers planning to do at least some of their shopping in store this year.
• More consumers plan to shop deal days from home than in stores (54.2% at home/online versus 39.7% in store for Black Friday).
• Inflation will have a deeper impact on lower-income shoppers, though still less than half of shoppers (43.8%) will significantly cut back on their spending specifically due to inflation and income.
• More than half (53.8%) of shoppers will start shopping before Thanksgiving