Get off your high horse: Suburban malls outpace big retailers in resiliency game

Upscale shops getting ditched by Singaporeans.

Retail has always been a battle for more customers, and it seems that small shopping centers have the upper hand against posh shops. CIMB’s Cost of Living survey revealed that when it comes leisure shopping, almost twice as many Singaporeans prefer to shop in suburban malls compared to large malls in the city center.

Only 15% of respondents prefer to shop in big malls like The Orchard and Marina, while 27.5% choose to go to suburban shopping malls.

Another 23.8% of respondents prefer to shop overseas, while the biggest group--33.8 percent-- are most comfortable with online shopping.

According to the CIMB, “We believe prime malls that focus on high street fashion and accessories may be the most affected while suburban malls are expected to be more resilient due to the nature of their business.”

The report further stated that suburban malls remain unthreatened by the strength of e-commerce because they usually sell household goods and daily necessities, which consumers are unlikely to find online.

“With this, we can deduce that suburban malls will continue to play an imperative role in the retail business in Singapore and may be the least likely to be affected by the strengthening trend
of online shopping,” the report note