Ret ail Science fro m CBRE FOOD & BEVERAGE IN A SHOPPING CENTER Healthy, slow-dining or fast food? ROMANIA CBRE Research 2016
1,000 customers surveyed across Romania
I NTR O D U C T I O N In spring 2015, CBRE surveyed 22,000 consumers across 22 markets in Europe, South Africa and the UAE to understand their perceptions of food and beverage within a shopping centre environment. For Romania the sample included 1,000 customers, located throughout the country. For many European markets, the vital question, underling the entire research report, is "How is the food & beverage (f&b) offer within a shopping center changing". A question important for the Romanian context as well, but for which we added the context of in which direction do the customers want this change to happen. We already know that the Romanian consumer is an avid enthusiast of the shopping center retail format, as opposed to high-street, shopping galleries or other formats. We know that the dwell time and frequency of visit for the Romanian client exceed the European averages. We know that in order to be attractive and well-performing a shopping center in Romania must have a well-designed, functional and vibrant food & beverage facilities. What this report offers us is insight into how important the f & b is and how consumers want this to change and evolve. It is the mission of everyone working within the retail environment to listen up, implement and get creative. Otherwise, the aforementioned truism - that Romanians love a shopping mall - might rapidly dissolve. CBRE Food & Beverage 2016 1
E X E C U T IVE S U M M A R Y CONSUMER PROFILE WHO IS THE RETAIL CLIENT? No.1 factor when choosing a shopping destination is the convenience of the location Most important factors when choosing a retail location for the Romanian consumer are: convenience of the location mix of shops & services presence of specific shops or retailers food and beverage establisments Within this customer survey almost 1,000 people were interviewed about their shopping, leisure and entertainment choices, needs and wants. They are spread pan-romania and from all age groups. As a majority of consumers visit a shopping center with such a frequency (65% visit a shopping centre at least once a week) it is evident that these consumers could be named heavy users. As high-street premises have shortfalls on many fronts (regarding parking, available space, quality of space, general infrastructure), shopping centers have risen as the go to alternative for shopping. In addition, this reports highlights that these premises have become the destination when going out to eat or drink, in a similar percentage compared to European consumer. More than half of consumers preferred to visit a large town shopping centre (more than 50 stores), followed by small town shopping centres. Out of town premises are third in terms of frequency of visitation. The in-town schemes are preferred both for heavy users (visit at least once per week) and by casual users (at least once per month). 2 CBRE Food & Beverage 2016
77% have smartphones and laptop / computer 46% have a household income of more than RON 2,500 65% visit a shopping centre at least once a week CBRE Food & Beverage 2016 3
WHO IS THE RETAIL CLIENT? Besides going to shops, 71% of consumers had something to eat or drink within the shopping center. This transforms the food & beverage option as the most significant activity done by consumers, in addition to shopping. 29% of Romanian consumers visit a center just to eat and drink Most used format of drinking and dining is a fast food outlet 6 out 10 people say they used such a facility in the last year. This is followed, in the order of usage, by independent coffee shop, ice cream / dessert outlet, independent restaurant, restaurant chain, snack outlet, bar or pub, juice bar, coffee shop chain. The food & beverage selection has implications for the entire shopping center as 7 out 10 people say that even if their main reason for their visit was to go eat or drink something, almost always they will end up visiting the shops. This is the highest percentage recorded throughout all the 22 surveyed countries, meaning that Romanian consumer has a higher degree of flexibility and desire to shop. For 59% of shoppers having a bite to eat or drink extends the dwell time within the centre. When the main reason for visiting is to eat or drink a large percentage of people still visit shops as well. Food is a social experience, as 94% of respondents said they had company when enjoying a bite to eat or drink, either with their friends, spouses, children or co-workers. 4 CBRE Food & Beverage 2016 Photo credit: Marius Dragne Photography
65.7% Figure 5. I agree with the statement; I almost always visit shops when I go to a shopping centre, even if the main reason for my visit was to eat or drink. 64.3% 65.1% 58.7% Turkey South Africa Romania 57.4% 54.7% 48.4% UAE Ireland Greece Spain France 14% Switzerland 25.1% Sweden Norway Czech Republic 25.5% Austria 27.2% 29.7% 30.4% 47.9% 47.2% Poland United Kingdom 40.8% Average Netherlands Russia Latvia 35.9% Germany 31.7% Italy Belgium Hungary 31.4% 30.9% 30.6% Source: CBRE 2015 40.7% 36.8% CBRE Food & Beverage 2016 5
C O NSU M E R E X P E C T A T I O N S Figure 8. Factors that are seen as extremely or very important to consumers when determining where to eat or drink. 82 75.1 75 69.1 69 61 64 56.3 53.4 47 51.7 49 51.4 43.3 51 40.5 41 33.9 Quality of the food Source: CBRE 2015 Value for money Quick service Conveniently located Comfortable seating Atmosphere Availability of healthy options Deals, offers or promotions Good lighting 6 CBRE Food & Beverage 2016
Romania EMEA Average 42 34 36 38 28.6 25.6 24.4 19.6 21 25 22 16.2 15.4 11.1 11 10.3 NEW Child friendly Free wifi New or interesting concept Gourmet or up-market dining options Availability of vegetarian options Being an independant food outlet Being part of a chain or franchise Availability of alcohol CBRE Food & Beverage 2016 7
C O NSU M E R E X P E C T A T I O N S WHERE CHANGE IS DESIRED? Whilst quality of food is seen as the most important, the next point directly related to food is availability of healthier options. There is a substantial work needed to be done by landlords and shopping center property managers, as only 36% say that their experience at the F&B was excellent or very good. A majority of users are ok with their experience, but not entirely satisfied. When such a large number of consumer visit a shopping center just to eat or drink, it is imperious that this F&B offer matches the expectations of the consumers. In addition, a third of consumers experienced a lack of top quality restaurants to go for a special meal within shopping centres. Considering that a higher percentage of European consumers use the F&B offer for lunch or dinner, which leads to higher average expenditure and extended dwell time, there is plenty of room for Romanian landlords to extend the catering offer. Right now 35% of shoppers enjoy the F&B offer in a centre for light snack, 29% for having lunch and only 1% to have breakfast. Even if they are an easy to implement solution, fast food outlets are not the key to the future, as only 25% of customers want to see more of them, while 35% want to see less of these units. This goes hand in hand with the expressed need of shoppers to see a rise in quality of the food served and number of healthier options. Other items that need improvement in order for clients to be more satisfied are: quality and speed of service, choice and range of food available, an improvement in atmosphere, more child friendly options and better seating environment. When it comes to child-friendly options, there are many items of the list that need to be included or upgraded, both by the shopping centre manager and by F&B operators directly. These add up to: healthy eating options, child friendly menu, child seating, space for strollers / pushchairs and changing facilities. 8 CBRE Food & Beverage 2016
C O NSU M E R E X P E C T A T I O N S Figure 9. Food and Beverage options or establishments that consumers would like to see more of. 66% 61% 53% 46% 43% Healthy/ organic options Juice bars Innovative food offerings Child Friendly options Ice cream/ Dessert options 42% 38% 38% 32% 32% Pop-up restaurants or new concepts Independant coffee shops or cafes Independant restaurants Food courts Vegetarian/ vegan options 32% 32% 28% 25% 24% Restaurant chains Coffee shop/ cafe chains Upmarket chains/brands Fast food outlets Doughnut or pretzel kiosk 20% 20% 14% 9% HA LAL Lactose friendly options Bars and pubs Halal options Alcohol outlets Source: CBRE 2015 CBRE Food & Beverage 2016 9
LOOKING BEYOND THE F&B THE FUTURE OF FOOD AND BEVERAGE IN SHOPPING CENTRES Half of the respondents feel there are major issues to be upgraded in their favourite shopping centre destination. Not just the F&B facilities need improvement, but the overall shopping centres, as customers would love to see more of: comfortable relation areas parking facilities information points entertainment facilities children facilities other customer oriented facilities Also, consumers would like to see major improvements in accessibility and ease of access within the centre, as well as free wi-fi access. 10 CBRE Food & Beverage 2016 Photo credit: Marius Dragne Photography
Photo credit: Marius Dragne Photography CBRE Food & Beverage 2016 11
K E Y C O N T A C T S Laura Bencze CEE Research Analyst & Head of Research Romania T: +40 21 313 10 20 E: laura.bencze@cbre.com Luiza Moraru Head of Retail & Asset Services CBRE Romania T: +40 21 313 10 20 E: luiza.moraru@cbre.com Andrew Phipps Executive Director EMEA Retail Research and Consulting T: +44 207 182 2116 E: andrew.phipps2@cbre.com Natasha Patel Associate Director EMEA Retail Research T: +44 207 182 3166 E: natasha.patel@cbre.com For more information about EME A Retail, please contact: Peter Gold Managing Director EMEA Cross-border Retail T: +44 20 7182 2969 E: peter.gold@cbre.com CBRE s Disclaimer 2015 CBRE Limited confirms that information contained herein, including projections, has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. While we do not doubt their accuracy, we have not verified them and make no guarantee, warranty or representation about them. It is your responsibility to confirm independently their accuracy and completeness. This information is presented exclusively for use by CBRE clients and professionals and all rights to the material are reserved and cannot be reproduced without prior written permission of CBRE. To learn more about CBRE research, please go to www.cbre.com\researchgateway 12 CBRE Food & Beverage 2016
What is Retail Science? At the heart of the retail environment, lies the intersection of data and the consumer experience. Where information and analytics come together to reveal market trends. Where a deep understanding of consumer behaviour informs the physical experience. Where ideas become actions that directly impact business success. At CBRE, we are passionate retail experts. We know how to leverage this powerful combination of data and consumer insight, unifying and mobilising them into outcomes that build true business advantage. We call this Retail Science. CBRE Food & Beverage 2016 13
Photo credit: Marius Dragne Photography www.cbre.com/researchgateaway