The relationship between retail and leisure

The relationship between retail and leisure

Keywords Property market,Retail centres

Jones Lang Wootton announced the initial results of their inaugural study, which is the first of its kind to examine the relationship between retail and leisure. The principal conclusions indicate that there is a positive link between the two and, by understanding this, shopping centres should be in a better position to exploit these opportunities.

The study is the first of its kind in the UK and the first in a series by Jones Lang Wootton which examine the trends in the retail and leisure sector and theissues which affect the future shape of retail and leisure developments in the UK.

The results showed that in the main, people choose cinemas primarily because of location. A high number of moviegoers shop at the centre as part of their trip, which is often pre-planned,although there is still a high degree of impulse shopping. lf shopping centres are to make the most of this high footfall, the retail and catering offered,needs to be adapted to encourage maximise usage of these facilities.

Commenting on the research, James Welch, Head of the Leisure Team at Jones Lang Wootton, said: "There has been a long-running debate on the relationship between retail and leisure in mixed use developments and our research shows that there is a positive relationship between the two. The results indicate that leisure provides added value to a retail centre and that there are potential opportunities for leisure operators,retailers and investors in the retail and leisure market to combine these activities.

"However, the relationship is complex. It needs to be carefully managed and planned in order to maximise the benefits of these pastimes, both in terms of what other leisure uses work best with retail and furthermore, in terms of which retail works best with certain leisure activities".

The study reviewed four major shopping centres in the UK where a cinema and shopping facilities were incorporated. The sample centres included major regional developments Meadowhall and Lakeside and town centre schemes in Cambridge and Milton Keynes.

The survey resultsIntroduction. The industry is seeing an increasing trend towards the development of mixed retail and leisure developments and a move away from conventional shopping centres. The study was undertaken to attempt to establish whether there is a substantial benefit in combining the two activities.

The focus of the study was multiplex cinemas in shopping centre locations. Many new leisure and shopping centre developments are combining both retail and leisure elements. To date there has been little, if any, research into the relationship between the two in the UK.

Method. A sample of 600 moviegoers was surveyed to evaluate their shopping behaviour. The respondents were asked about their activities before and after visiting the cinema, their spending patterns, and reasons for visiting the shopping centres and cinema.

BMRB were commissioned by Jones Lang Wootton to carry out the research.

Results. The survey revealed some positive and surprising results illustrating the strength of the relationship between the two activities.

A summary of the findings is as follows:

• Over 70 per cent of moviegoers shop and/or use other leisure facilities in the centre during their trip to the cinema.

• The average level of spending by moviegoers on shopping was over £30 per head, with an average spend on other leisure activities, i.e. restaurants,bars and entertainment centres, of over £15 per head.

• Fashion items were the most likely purchase by nearly three-quarters of moviegoers when they shopped, followed by restaurants and CDs/books.

• Shopping before the film showing was most popular with almost two-thirds of moviegoers who both shopped on impulse and pre-planned purchases.

• Three quarters of moviegoers visited the cinema after 6 pm, with around two-thirds visiting the shopping centre before going to the cinema.

Conclusions and implications of survey findings. From the survey findings it can be concluded that:

• Convenience was an important factor in consumers' choice of cinema location.

• The importance of the choice and variety of films on offer suggests that multi-screen cinemas are more popular with consumers. Hence, operators require the sufficient space to offer a suitable provision of variety and choice to moviegoers.

• Factors such as shopping centre environment and security were not stated as reasons for visiting the centre cinemas. However, it is likely that these variables have become threshold expectations with consumers which will act as demotivators in destination selection should they be absent.

• Cinemas are good traffic builders in shopping centres as a significant number of moviegoers attend the cinema on a regular basis. This highlights the potential of cinemas to act as an additional anchor in a retail scheme.

• The high number of moviegoers who shop at the centre while visiting the cinema shows a positive relationship between a retail and leisure offer.

• Shopping centre retail performance is enhanced by the presence of a cinema and the resultant retail spend captured from moviegoers.

• If shopping centres are to take full advantage of the footfall generated by cinemas then the offer must be adapted to encourage maximum usage of the centre's other facilities by moviegoers.

• Pre-planned shopping by moviegoers during a trip to the cinema suggests that joint cinema and shopping trips are part of their "behavioural repertoire".

• A high proportion of impulse shopping suggests that moviegoers are tempted to purchase when a suitable offer is available.

• A higher propensity to purchase certain product categories such as clothing/footwear and CDs/books/videos presents retailers with an opportunity to target moviegoers.

• The increased likelihood of spending in these product categories also presents centre management with the opportunity to target certain retailers to locate next to cinemas. This will provide the retailers with the potential for improved trading performance and allow the centre to offer a more complementary and improved customer offer.

• Moviegoers exhibit a healthy retail spend during cinema visits which improves the performance of the centre and the retail tenants making it a more desirable location with the subsequent effect on rental potential/ growth.

• Non-shopping moviegoers perceive shopping as a different purchase trip from cinema which suggests that it will be difficult to increase retail penetration into this customer group during cinema visits.

• Overall, there is a positive relationship between retail and leisure with the centre and retail tenants benefiting from footfall generated by the centre. Furthermore, by understanding the relationship between cinemas and retail, and moviegoers' shopping behaviours an opportunity exists to maximise the positive relationship through effective shopping centre management.