Madison Avenue left out of rebound

Shoppers are scanning Manhattan’s brick-and-mortar stores again, in search of wardrobe upgrades for the return to offices and in-person gatherings. Madison Avenue is one retail hub getting left out of the rebound.

Foot traffic on the stretch of Madison from 57th to 72nd streets was at just 71 per cent of 2019 levels the week of Aug. 8, according to estimates by Orbital Insight. That’s lagging behind Upper Fifth Avenue just a block away, and Soho, which is seeing more shoppers than before the pandemic.

Historically, all three districts have beckoned consumers with a taste for luxury, their boutiques and flagship stores attracting New Yorkers and global travellers alike. While nearly every retail strip has suffered from the rise of e-commerce over the years, Madison has been especially decimated. COVID-19 restrictions only accelerated the slide, forcing more stores to shutter for good.

The avenue where now-shuttered Barneys New York was a swanky mainstay for decades now has Manhattan’s highest rate of available retail space, giving shoppers less motivation to stroll by.

One reason the area has struggled is that it has little appeal for young people, who “want to be where it’s hip,” according to Ruth Colphaber, who runs Wharton Property Advisors Inc.

“You’re more likely to meet your friend down in Soho to go to brunch on the weekend than you are to go to a museum on Madison Avenue,” she said. “They don’t want to go uptown — that’s where their parents and grandparents are living.”

While streets across the city may be quieter than usual these days, some areas are bouncing back stronger than Madison. On similarly posh Upper Fifth Avenue, from 49th to 60th streets, shopper traffic has recovered to 92 per cent of 2019 levels, according to Orbital, which tracks pedestrian activity through mobile phone data and satellites.

Downtown in Soho, foot traffic has been hovering around 110 per cent of 2019 levels since early July. On a recent Saturday, shoppers swarmed Lululemon, the Apple Store and Uniqlo, and cashier lines at fast-fashion chain Zara’s Broadway store stretched almost to the door. Storefronts in the arty neighbourhood have been filling up, thanks in part to large rent discounts.

On Madison, meanwhile, the availability rate for retail space was 39 per cent in the second quarter, the highest in Manhattan, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

All along the avenue, storefronts are advertising closings or relocations. On one stretch, between 66th and 67th streets, nearly every other address is empty.