It’s a tale as old as time. You need something from the grocery store for tonight’s dinner so you head into the local store and realize you could use a pick me up from your favorite coffee shop that’s next door while you’re there. Oh, and maybe popping into the new bakery wouldn’t hurt either.

Grocery-anchored retail will always be there to drive strong foot traffic, until we figure out a way to eat exclusively in the metaverse (kidding!). With the economy in flux, one thing we’re ready to bet on is the strength of grocery stores to support the surrounding businesses, and it looks like researchers in the industry agree. Here are a few data points we found:

• In 2021, U.S. grocery-anchored retail property sales held the largest share of any retail property type for the third consecutive year and the second highest in recorded history.
• Renewed interest from international capital pushed investments in U.S. grocery-anchored assets to just under $600 million, nearly double the amount seen in 2020.
• The 9.4% increase in grocery sales in 2020 was sustained in 2021 when total sales reached $803 billion, a 16% increase over pre-pandemic levels.

Stats like these point to what we’ve known for a long time: grocery is a safe bet. Grocery-anchored shopping centers have been around for decades and they continue to drive impressive growth even with digital shopping options available to consumers. Not to mention, many stores can have cult-like loyalty from consumers that keep them coming back for the in-store discovery experience that you can’t get online (we’re looking at you, Trader Joes). 

So what does this mean for leasing agents and brokers of grocery-anchored retail shopping centers?

If you have an open space in a center in this category, be sure to use this to your advantage in your outreach to businesses! There’s a chance the business owner may not know about the strength of grocery-anchored retail so consider educating them with some stats like the ones listed above.

In your outreach to local businesses, here’s a template you can use for any spaces you have open in a grocery-anchored retail center:

Template for Grocery Anchored Retail Spaces

Subject line:

Space available in Kroger shopping center

Message:

I'm working with the Kroger shopping center in town. We have a space available. Do you have any plans to relocate or expand? I was reading about [business_name] and thought you might be a good fit. Let me know and I can send you a flyer or set up a tour.

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With over 63k grocery stores in the US and even more spaces available next to them, there is so much opportunity for local businesses, brokers and leasing agents alike. Reach out for a demo to learn more about how Resquared helps leasing professionals reach more businesses in less time!