According to Canada’s continued love for shopping, the commercial real estate property will continue to put money into investors pockets. While some worry that online and mobile markets are taking over the physical shopping experience, experts say that this is far from the truth. Richard Crenian expand on this below.

Richard Crenian: Online vs Offline

This year, online sales are expected to reach new heights, never before reached. Real estate analysts and Google both report similar mobile shopping trends in America. Even the news camera crews out at the malls found that some shoppers were simply out for the entertainment, treat and planned to take advantage of the sales via their phones later.

However, studies show that shoppers recently spent between 35 minutes to 1.5 hours in physical electronics stores on November 25th, much higher than the previous year. New Canadian retail data suggests our shoppers might spend even more time at local malls and shopping plazas this season.

Canada’s Shopping Habits, According to Richard Crenian

Canada is widely seen as having the highest amount of sales per square foot in the world. That’s not changing anytime soon, especially as sellers get savvy about engaging and interactive experiences and clicks to bricks. We see this a lot at entertainment venues, and those which are combining both.

For commercial real estate investors, this can make retail property in Canada very enticing. Although some trends report a decline in foreign markets abroad, Canada’s online sales for brick and mortar retail tenants remains strong. When combined with strong lease agreements, these sales numbers will only contribute to higher profits among local retail properties. This may mean great potential for retail investments ahead, even without smart value-add plays.

To Conclude..

Retailers are becoming savvier about technology and ecommerce. Yet, in Canada consumers still overwhelmingly prefer to get out and experience things for themselves. In fact; the more virtual we become, the more need and desire there may be to get out and enjoy ourselves in the real world. This is great news for retail investors, and a factor which should be accounted for when evaluating investment opportunities.