Grocery-Anchored Centers Continue To Be A Viable Investment
Despite an increase in online grocery shopping and more brick-and-mortar competition, sales of U.S. grocery-anchored centers have continued to increase as investors maintain confidence in the stability of such investments.
Since 2010, demand for grocery-anchored centers has exceeded supply and the trend is expected to continue through 2018. While demand for these centers remains high, there is some concern about oversaturation and declines in productivity due to competition in the marketplace, CoStar reports.
Stores like Walmart and dollar store chains have expanded their grocery offerings in recent years while Aldi, Lidl and Dollar General aggressively expanding their footprints. Online grocery sales have also increased an estimated 4% in the last few years, bringing the total number of U.S. households shopping for food online to 23% in 2017.
Market fundamentals for grocery-anchored centers are expected to remain healthy in the coming years, and Amazon’s investment in Whole Foods shows that brick-and-mortar grocery is likely here to stay, making this a viable investment opportunity moving forward.
