Economic pressures will continue to impact all retail sectors including the OOT market. Inflationary headwinds, the sterling being weak and slowing real wage growth are all likely to impact on consumer confidence and impact the UK retail market throughout 2017 and beyond.

Multi-sector Value retailing will continue to flourish in this climate. Consumers’ shrinking budgets will maintain Value operators appeal over the coming years as shoppers increasingly rely on them for frequent, essential fashion, comparison and grocery purchases.

This will only fuel store openings further as demand for accessibility rises, with landlords keen to bring in retailers with a wide demographic appeal to drive footfall and anchor their developments.

Lower rents and the accessibility of large units have ensured that OOT shopping and retail parks remain an attractive choice for Value retailers, particularly in secondary locations and smaller OOT schemes where they can appeal to a wide customer base driving maximum profit from low margin products.

This is particularly true for Value Comparison Goods retailers such as B&M and Home Bargains who have taken up opportunities in schemes, as other more traditional DIY retailers have chosen to downsize, or indeed big box retailers have fallen out of the market. As consumer trust in these retailers has grown they have been able and will continue to take advantage of slowing consumer confidence, expanding further into homewares, DIY and gardening, where traditional retailers in these markets have had to scale back, as they have seen the propensity to move to house fall into decline.