Tuesday, Jan 19, 2016

Dubai: Mall operators in the region and elsewhere are cooking up a successful formula maximise footfall — food courts and other F&B options.

The UAE’s retail space alone will see another 1,000 F&B outlets opening by 2018, to join an already crowded scene.

“This will offer an opportunity in the market for home-grown and unique concepts catering to the diverse nationalities that live here and tourists,” said Andrew Williamson, national director and head of Retail at JLL Mena.

“Walk through the Ripe Market on a Friday morning in Zabeel Park or the food trucks at Kite Beach and you can see the F&B diversity that is gaining a foothold in the UAE.”

‘Gourmetisation’ of retail

They even have a new word to capture the trend — the ‘gourmetisation’ of retail. It caters to the “increasing desire from consumers for a deluxe dining experience, with a basic product being elevated to the next level,” according to a new JLL report. “There is also an emerging trend for hybrid food — the combining of two basic products to create something new.”

These are not trends confined to the UAE — malls cutting across geographies will allocate 20 per cent of space to F&B retailers in 10 years’ time, according to JLL estimates. They have a valid reason too — on average, shoppers who eat spend 18 per cent more overall. They also spend on average 27 minutes longer at the shopping centre.

‘Experience is king’

“In a new online world, experience is king and gastronomy will be the social glue that will hold retail spaces of the future together,” said Jonathan Doughty, managing director of Coverpoint, JLL’s food consulting business.

“The rise in online sales means that consumers are looking for leisure and culinary experiences from their shopping centre visits as this is something that is still impossible to do online.

“Well-configured and complementary dining and drinking provision can add real diversity and vitality to major city markets worldwide, and can often boost consumers’ shopping experience and dwell time, as well as giving consumers a reason to keep coming back. This is only set to rise.”

Across Europe, food service in shopping centres takes up an average of 15 per cent of leasable area. This is expected to rise “to at least 20 per cent in total over the next decade,” according to JLL.

By Manoj Nair Associate Editor

Gulf News 2016. All rights reserved.