Revenge shopping and dining benefiting Retail and leisuRe sectoRs

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

“Brick-and-mortar retail and hotels were some of the most severely affected real estate sectors during the pandemic. Now that travel and mobility restrictions have been lifted, we are seeing the resurgence and ‘unfreezing’ not just of market activity but also development and expansion of players in these sectors,” said Rick Santos, chairman and CEO of Santos Knight Frank in a press statement.

According to Santos, the retail market in Metro Manila grew as shown by the increase in vacancy rates during the third quarter of 2022. The continuous lifting of health restrictions has also boosted the confidence of people and their families to get out of their homes and head to the malls which are the most common destination places.

“The effects of the pandemic are slowly waning as shown by the increase in consumer spending, revenge travel, and modest increases in foot traffic,” Santos said.

Benefiting from the recovery

M A l l operators such as SM, Ayala l a nd, Robinsons and Filinvest are obviously benefiting from the recovery.

“As overall activity improves, mall operators are not only seeing a complete recovery but also the potential for actual growth in the retail sector. Mall going has been and will always be a part of the way of life of Filipinos. The practice has been deeply ingrained into Filipino culture and has been visibly shown when people gradually flocked the malls when health restrictions allowed it,” Santos said.

“With the evolving consumer behavior, retailers are optimizing their physical store portfolios, while simultaneously improving their online presence to provide a better shopping experience. The future of retail is a harmony between online and in-store shopping,” Santos said.

“On his part, Colliers Philippines director for research Joey Roi Bondoc said the lifting of the last of the Covid-19 restrictions has enabled the retail sector to bounce back brought about by revenge shopping in all malls and removal of all rental concessions which was pervasive during the pandemic.

With the virtual absence of parks and open spaces in the city, Bondoc said the malls have functioned as a one-stop shop for shopping, dining, and recreation, with even government services taking up spaces in the malls to serve its constituents.

Preparing for the shopping spree

Th E A raneta family-controlled Araneta City’s believes that their latest transformational project, the New Gateway Mall 2, will attract the mall goers with its exciting stores and attractions.

The Araneta management is bullish that the P5-billion expansion of the multi-awarded Gateway Mall