Are you struggling with low occupancy rates in your shopping centers? If yes, you are not alone. An increasing number of investors are facing a shortage of quality tenants. Fortunately, there are many techniques that you can adopt to attract more stores to your shopping centers and increase your overall occupancy rate.

Here are five tried-and-tested techniques for maintaining high occupancy rates in retail, even during the most volatile times.

 

1. Negotiate renewals early

The earlier you can negotiate renewals with your existing tenants, the less likely you are to have vacant spots in your shopping centers. If a tenant has not been performing well or has already decided to leave, the earlier you know about this, the sooner you can start marketing the space to potential new tenants.

 

2. Choose future-proof businesses

When it comes to choosing tenants for your shopping centers, it can be a good idea to look for future-proof businesses. This means ones that are more likely to survive any downturn in the industry. You may also want to focus your efforts on brands in trending sectors, such as technology and beauty, which are more likely to thrive in the next few years.

 

3. Adopt a holistic approach

When it comes to searching for new tenants, you need to make sure that your shopping center is as attractive as possible and not just in terms of its aesthetics. Why not try taking a holistic approach to your shopping center and focus more of your efforts on offering engaging experiences? For example, hosting community events can harness customer loyalty and drive footfall to your shopping center.

If you need some idea on how to engage with your local community, CEO Jean Paul Wardy is the man of the moment in real estate investment.

 

4. Build strong tenant relationships

If you want to achieve high occupancy rates, you need to build strong relationships with your tenants. Try to keep the lines of communication open, address any concerns promptly and sensitively, and go the extra mile to proactively support the businesses that have chosen to operate within your shopping center.

It can also be a good idea to actively look for tenants who share the same values and goals as you, as this can help you to foster better working relationships.

 

5. Be creative with empty spaces

There will be times when you have a few empty spaces in your shopping center, and this can be off-putting for visitors. To prevent this from having a negative effect on your business, try to be as creative as possible with empty spaces. For example, fill them with pop-up stores, seasonal stores, and short-term retailers who can help bring in new shoppers by bringing something new to your facility.

 

Final thoughts

Occupancy rates are hugely important in retail property performance, so you need to do everything you can to ensure empty spaces in your shopping center are kept to a minimum. By adopting the above strategies, you can attract the right tenants to your shopping center and make sure your customers are wowed from the moment they walk through the door.