Retail needs to be super convenient, or just super, to survive, and while the majority of retailers are still expanding, they are doing so cautiously.

Retail needs to be super convenient, or just super, to survive, and while the majority of retailers are still expanding, they are doing so cautiously.

Shoppers still want to visit stores, according to Yvonne Court, partner of retail at Cushman & Wakefield. In fact, 87% of consumers still buy their goods in a shop while only 60% go online to browse and only 11% will buy online.

Speaking at the 40th ICSC European Conference in London on Monday, Court said retail landlords need to get back to basics. 'We need to look at things like connectivity, to make sure our retail places are well connected and we can’t be complacent about the physical environment either. We have to ensure our retail spaces respond to change and act responsibly, and that includes creating cultural links with the communities in which they are located.'

Over the last few years shopping centres have focussed increasingly on experience and entertainment to draw shoppers to the centres, but the facts are that the fundamentals of price, cleanliness, convenience, parking and retail diversity haven’t changed and are at the top of shoppers’ wish list of facilities, with entertainment facilities at the bottom.

Watch an interview with Yvonne Court on retail brands coming into Europe