Levin Management Corporation Survey Shows Record Optimism Among Retailers for 2025
Levin Management Corporation released its 14th annual Retail Outlook Sentiment Survey, which revealed that store managers are “entering 2025 with a favorable attitude fueled by strong annual and holiday sales volume.” LMC said sentiment is so strong that 75.7 percent of respondents “report they are optimistic about performance in the coming year — a new survey high.”
LMC’s retail-focused portfolio comprises 125 properties that total more than 16 million square feet with locations in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states.
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Matthew K. Harding, chief executive officer of LMC, said, “Tenants in our leased and managed shopping center portfolio had a strong year, with our survey findings mirroring reports of record retail spending and better-than-anticipated holiday seasonal sales in 2024.”
Harding said 76.1 percent of respondents said their 2024 annual sales “reached the same or a higher level than 2023; just under three quarters (73.6 percent) indicate same-or-higher holiday sales year-over-year. These percentages compare to survey trailing averages of 61.6 percent and 66 percent respectively.”
Harding said just as positive outcomes beget positive outlooks, “embracing change and creating new opportunities for customer engagement are keys to ongoing success in the retail environment.” The CEO said about 45 percent of LMC survey participants stated that their company recently adapted (or has plans to adapt) its business model to “maintain or improve competitive advantage.”
Regarding growth plans, 40.9 percent of those polled said they’re hiring and 17 percent anticipate expanding, renovating or reformatting their stores, while 22 percent said they expect to open additional locations in 2025
“Retailers are working to meet consumers where they are today — and that means creating a distinctive brick-and-mortar shopping experience,” Harding said. “Our survey respondents ranked customer service and support, and the social experience of in-person shopping, as the top two advantages of physical retail over its e-commerce counterpart. Their most popular enhancements fit in that context.”
LMC said for the second consecutive year, inflation/rising prices topped the list of drivers respondents said will have the biggest impact on their retail or service business over the next year. “At the same time, inflationary increases seem to be easing somewhat, with 24.2 percent of respondents saying they did not raise prices last year, up from 22.5 percent and 18.8 percent, respectively, in LMC’s two prior outlook surveys,” the report stated. “Of those who did raise prices in response to inflation last year, 25.4 percent expect to raise prices further in 2025, down from 30.4 percent and 34.7 percent in the two prior outlook surveys.”
LMC said the next Retail Sentiment surveys will be conducted in June and October and will explore “technology trends and mid-year performance, and gauging expectations and plans for the holiday season, respectively.”
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