St. Louis Metro Retail Real Estate Post-Pandemic Is Looking Good

Family Happy to Be Shopping in St. Louis2021 began strong for St. Louis retailers, with sales increasing by 5.8%* – the best we’ve seen since the previous October. With all sectors of retail growing continually, it was reported that there was an 11% increase in brick and mortar sales.* Overall, the retail sector has seen improvement, however, it’s not growing at the same rate for all categories in our region.  Big box retailers, DIY, Discounters etc., continue to do well for in-person shopping, while for soft goods, such as apparel are the needle is moving very slowly.   

Of course, internet shopping is still going strong, but it has slowed from the insurgency we saw in the early pandemic stages of early to mid  2020.  It is apparent, shoppers are returning to physical stores, as it is reported that shoppers are suffering from online fatigue and yearn for a a physical experience of going out and interacting with items and people.  Good news for retail real estate! 

*oberlo.com

St. Louis Metro Retail Real Estate Post-Pandemic Is Looking Good

Vaccine Speeds Up Retail Real Estate Recovery

Retail real estate recovery anticipated to start mid-2021, maybe sooner.

With vaccines now a reality, the road is being paved for an economic recovery and a CRE rebound. The economic adjustment may still be cringe-worthy, but the possibility of a return to normalcy for most sectors within the year is now a genuine viewpoint. Much of the consumer and economic buoyancy we are currently experiencing is tied to anticipation of national and regional restrictions being removed.

Although, Essential retailers are still thriving, over 50% of the retail markets in the U.S. are in still in decline.  It is uncertain what consumer shopping habits will look like; if customers will return to the stores or if the mass implementation of e-commerce will stay the norm. However, there is good news coming down the pike, many national and regional reports expect consumer behavior to restore some of the market share to bricks and mortar retail properties by Q3 2021.