E-commerce and UK retail property: trends and issues

UK retailing is currently being reshaped by new competitive patterns and pressures, contributing to a weakening in retail property performance. The growth of online retailing has been perceived as a further threat to the sector, although the problems facing ‘pure play’ e-tailers mean that Internet shopping is likely to be increasingly dominated by multi-channel retailers. Web-based retailing will add to competitive pressures on retailers and increase general price transparency. Internet sales penetration will vary between products and services and also geographically. Even with Internet sales growth being concentrated on established retailers, there will be impacts on retail floor space productivity, property requirements and store networks, with implications for retail property performance. Online shopping could reinforce the existing trend of polarisation of retail spending into the larger and more attractive centres within the retail hierarchy. Retailers and retail property investors need to find ways of upgrading the shopping experience to respond to the growth of online sales. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications