Vicinity Centres’ quarterly sales have collapsed by 32 per cent compared to the same time last year, dragged down by the devastating impact Melbourne’s lockdown has had on its portfolio.

Taking Melbourne and CBD centres out of the equation shows a 1.1 per cent increase for the same time period, the property firm said on Friday.

CEO and managing director Grant Kelley said that since Melbourne retailers have begun reopening their doors in the wake of relaxed restrictions, things are already looking up.

“We are very pleased to have our Melbourne retailers re-open over the past week and have seen centre visitation return to 79 per cent of the prior year level across our Victorian centres,” Kelley said.

“This follows a 12-week period where 83 per cent of our Victorian tenancies were closed due to government directives.”

According to Kelley, the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of business agility, as well as data-driven decision making and a more digital focus moving forward – a conclusion many retailers and property groups are coming to as consumers increasingly shy away from crowds and centres.

To combat this, Vicinity launched Parcel Concierge this quarter, a click and collect service which allows a customer’s online purchases from multiple Vicinity retailers to be collected from a single pick-up spot.

To date, more than 2,500 parcels have been collected across the 11 trial locations, and the service will be expanded across Vicinity’s national portfolio.