Almost a third of people will visit a shopping centre across EMEA just to eat and drink
Almost a third of all visitors to shopping centres across Europe, South Africa and the Middle East will visit the centres just to eat and drink, according to new research.
The latest Food and Beverage study by global property advisor CBRE found that shoppers in the UAE, South Africa, Turkey, Romania and Spain particularly identified with shopping centres as key food and beverage destinations.
The report surveyed 22,000 customers across 22 markets in Europe, South Africa and the Middle East to find out their perceptions of food and beverage within the shopping centre environment. The results reveal that 59% of shoppers in the UAE, 57% in South Africa, 52% in Turkey, 51 % in Poland and 42% in Spain visit a shopping centre just to eat or drink.
Moreover, even if their main reason for visiting a centre is to eat and drink, an average of 40% of people said they then go on to do some shopping.
Peter Gold, head of EMEA cross border retail at CBRE, said: “We know that a shopping centre is more than the sum of its parts: it’s about the overall proposition. With shopping centres competing for shopper attention, F&B is increasingly important as a footfall and revenue driver.
“A strong food and beverage offer fits with the notion that shopping is a leisure activity. Customers not only have a ‘desire’ to shop, but have a ‘need’ to eat. With that in mind, our research shows that more than 40% of people will visit shops even if their primary reason to visit was to eat or drink.”
Andrew Phipps, head of retail research and consulting at CBRE EMEA, added: “With 42% of people across EMEA visiting a shopping centre once a week or more and 36% rating food and a beverage as very or extremely important, an innovative, well curated food and beverage line-up provides a much richer experience to shopping centre visitors, encouraging them to make regular return visits.”
