During their first visits to shopping centres following their reopening, shoppers noticed some negative phenomena in retail facilities, especially considerably higher prices (55% of the respondents to the survey), closed stores (26%) and the lack of special offers (25%). Around 20% reported limited offers of their favourite brands, shortages of sizes and fewer staff, which frequently affected customers’ perception of the quality of in-store service.
“Due to the changes in shopping centres and retail parks, almost a third of customers would prefer to shop online. 29% of the respondents did not consider them to be a reason for more frequent online shopping. The remaining 37% are still uncertain about the impact of these changes on their preferences, and this group of shoppers is at the highest risk of shifting to online if they feel that they lack a positive experience in brick-and-mortar stores,” says Małgorzata Dziubińska, Associate Director, Consulting & Research, Cushman & Wakefield.
“As consumers are becoming increasingly aware of their expectations and reasons for retail trips, it is critical that their needs are fulfilled in a shopping destination. Now is the time for tenants, and not only for landlords, to take care of customers. The Covid-19 crisis has shown that a flexible approach and seamless adaptation of sales strategies to the changing retail landscape will make it possible to achieve the highest level of need satisfaction among customers at all times,” says Paulina Bauer, Associate, Head of Retail Asset Services Poland, Cushman & Wakefield.
Cushman & Wakefield’s consumer survey was carried out by Inquiry in June 2021 using the CAWI method (Computer-Assisted Web Interview) on a representative sample of consumers (N=1003).
