Improved mall software ‘reveals signs of recovery’

LIBERTY Two Degrees (L2D) said the relaxation of the pandemic restrictions had stimulated early signs of a retail recovery, and average footfall for the four months to April was 101 percent above that of the same month in 2019.

Comparison with 2020 was avoided because of the lockdown, the group said in a pre-close statement on Friday.

The average footcount at L2D’s retail malls such as Sandton City, Eastgate and Midlands Mall, was 82.4 percent in January this year compared with January 2019, 84.7 percent in February, and 79.5 percent in March.

Improved customer counting software had been implemented from April 1, allowing the group to count customers and analyse shopping patterns within the shopping centres.

Additional operational metrics tracked by the software in April included customer count zones, dwell times, vehicle counts, and gender and demographic distribution.

High customer count zones across the portfolio include the apparel, food service and electronics categories. Stationery, entertainment, and eyewear and optometry were shown to be low customer count zones.

The new software was also able to assist from a safety aspect by identifying stolen cars, weapons and persons banned from the centres.

The quarterly turnover reflected the portfolio’s recovery after the onset of Covid-19, with first-quarter of 2021 turnover down only 3.9 percent compared to 2020’s first three months.

From a monthly perspective, April turnover was up 2.3 percent from March. Furthermore, turnover for April this year was down by only 5.9 percent compared with April 2019, an improvement from March 2021, which was down 6.4 percent compared with March 2019.

Super-regional centres in general were severely impacted across South Africa during lockdown. However,

Sandton City and Eastgate combined had showed resilience, with turnover for March 2021 at 95.2 percent and for April at 96.9 percent of 2019 levels, respectively.

Strong-performing categories across the portfolio included technology, homeware and furniture.

Eastgate introduced a drive-in cinema on its rooftop, which had attracted favourable interest, with Sandton City scheduled to follow suit in early June.

L2D said it remained well capitalised, with a loan to value of 23.6 percent and unutilised facilities of R247 million.

L2D’s shares closed unchanged at R4.96 on Friday.