The retail industry in Asia Pacific is poised for tremendous change over the next decade as the COVID-19 pandemic accelerates technological transformation, resulting in physical and digital platforms converging to meet consumer demand in terms of convenience, according to CBRE’s The Future of Retail – A View of 2030 report, released in November 2020.

The report’s key themes include:

Brick-and-mortar retail is here to stay: While the pandemic has accelerated transformation in the retail industry, retailers and landlords in the Asia Pacific region have been — and will continue to be — adoptive as the industry undergoes many structural adjustments.

While occupier respondents are generally more optimistic than landlords and investors, some survey participants believe insufficient high-quality retail space exists — particularly space suited for experience-oriented stores — to meet demand.