Levin Management Corp., a property developer with a portfolio that includes a large promotion of power centers and strip malls, has released the findings of its annual Retail Sentiment Outlook Survey, which revealed that 30.5% of respondents anticipate opening additional stores in 2024, the highest figure since 2017.
Evidence of a return to more normal business conditions can be seen in staffing and labor, Levin pointed out. Currently, 41.5% of LMC respondents are hiring, down from 48.3% one year ago and 62.6% two years ago. Coupled with the most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, this is likely a sign that more retailers are fully staffed or nearly so.
As they prepare for 2024, 44.3% of respondents said they are adapting their business model to maintain or improve their competitive advantage. Within that group:
- 67.4% said they would focus on training and customer experience
- 47.2% said they would offer new or updated customer loyalty/incentive programs
- 39.3% said they would put more weight behind their convenience-focused initiatives
Then, a quarter of those who stated that they are making efforts to adapt their business to current conditions indicated that they are rebranding or rolling out a branding refresh.
The outlook survey asks retailers to make year-over-year comparisons of their latest annual and holiday seasonal sales results. In response, 64.8% said that the 2023 annual sales volume met or exceeded 2022 levels, and 68% maintained that their holiday seasonal sales volume was the same or better year-over-year.
