he need for convenience, with consumers indicating that accessibility and parking are important, especially the requirement for free parking, due to the lack of mass transit infrastructure in markets such as Australia. Around 80 per cent of survey respondents preferred travel time to shopping destinations to be under 30 minutes. “The key message from consumers is clear. Landlords and developers need to get the basics right,” said Jonathan Hsu, director, CBRE research, Asia Pacific. “Aside from price, the most important factors that consumers look for are cleanliness, convenience and security. By attending to the basics, shopping centre operators will be able to help consumers focus on the main objective of visiting a retail destination – shopping,” Hsu said. Alistair Palmer, CBRE’s national director, retail services, said that in Australia, price is first and foremost. “With the international fast fashion brands now hitting our shores, Australians will be wowed by the compelling prices and some of Australian retailers will suffer,” Palmer said. “One of the biggest categories (to suffer) is likely to be the discount department store who have reasonably compelling prices, but the product quality will not be generally as good as the likes of Uniqlo, who produce the best possible quality at the lowest possible price.” What they are looking for CBRE’s report revealed that consumers in Asia Pacific overwhelmingly prefer large shopping centere defined as those with more than 50 stores. Australians have a strong preference for an enclosed mall environment, and car parking is a priority for these centres. “The advent of park assist with the red and green lights signalling availability and number of spaces available is most important going forward for landlords to implement,” Palmer said. Around 65 per cent of Asia Pacific consumers preferring large shopping centres over smaller shopping centres and high streets, but on the other hand, other findings show that low income groups and the younger generation tend to favor local high streets. According to the survey, 20 per cent of respondents still like to go to smaller shopping centers, however, more than 40 per cent of consumers believe that smaller shopping centres are unable to compete with the online retail market. Despite this, CBRE believes smaller shopping centres still have a future in this region. “Smaller fashion based centres of less than 50 shops are struggling to compete.The need to expand to have a critical mass of retailers is most important,” Palmer said. “Macquarie Shopping Centre by AMP is arguably the best example of  the new age centre that consumers are demanding – a centre with most of the fast fashion brands of H&M, Zara, GAP, Forever 21, and Uniqlo, who will provide lower prices. “In addition, Macquarie Centre is large enough to cater for demands. This trend will certainly follow in the Australian market, with other shopping centre landlords positioning themselves to accommodate new international brands, better car parking, and better food offers,” he said. Joel Stephen, head of retailer representation, Asia said, that if developers of smaller centres are to succeed, they must perform high level analysis of consumers in their catchment area and adopt the right price positioning, focusing on a mix of food and neighborhood services. “Whilst the outlook for the bricks and mortar format remains upbeat, shopping centre operators must be alert to the challenges posed by online retail,” said Stephen. “Eighty per cent of survey respondents said they would continue to shop as often or more in a physical store, however, 85 per cent said they would also shop online. “The use of online shopping is increasing rapidly across Asia Pacific and retail landlords will have to integrate this platform into their overall strategy to remain competitive and, ultimately, to survive,”  he said. As a result, competition will continue to be fierce in the retail environment, meaning that landlords and retailers must work together to find a way to interact and connect with consumers. Three key considerations for landlords in the future are the use of big data, the creation of useful apps, and brand building exercises.