When thinking about the outlook for retail markets, which still represent a significant part of the investment landscape, it is important to look beyond traditional measures of retail activity. For example, headline retail sales figures are only part of the story because they are limited to a narrow coverage of spending on physical goods. To get a true measure of store-based spending, the online component has to be subtracted; and other personal services such as those offered by restaurants, hair salons and gyms, which typically occupy retail units, have to be accounted for. Similarly, rent received can either be fixed or be based on a more-flexible arrangement, such as turnover based, meaning an assessment of net operating income (NOI) is important alongside headline rents.
