If you've been of the view that physical retail is on its way out, it may be time to reconsider. Panellists at Bisnow's Dublin Retail & E-Commerce Revolution event on 29 November were pretty bullish about the current state of and future for brick-and-mortar — when it is done right.

Harvey Norman Ireland CEO Blaine Callard said Black Friday (23 November) had been his company's busiest trading day in 15 years. “It's been good since summer,” he said. “Something's changed — people are out shopping, footfall is up and that's very positive. I think it's going to be a good Christmas for Irish retail.”

Sigma Retail Partners Managing Director Marcus Wren said tenants in his company's portfolio of eight retail parks and six shopping centres across the country are generally very happy in terms of turnover. “We have one occupier whose prediction for the year was €4M — they're up at €6.7M for the year at the moment,” Wren said. “If you've got the right retailer with the right product, physical space is where it's at.”