Vacancy Rate of Shanghai Shopping Malls as High as 70%

Recently, a picture of the vacancy rate of Shanghai shopping malls went viral on internet. 

China Asset Information Circle (CAIC) found that the average vacancy rate of key commercial projects in Shanghai has reached 9%, significantly higher than that of Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.

Before the epidemic in 2022 (during the second half of 2021), the average vacancy rate of Shanghai shopping malls was about 6.9%. 

Apart from shopping malls with high vacancy rates in Baoshan, Qingpu, and other suburbs, prime locations such as Lujiazui and Nanjing East Road have an alarmingly high vacancy rate.

Super Brand Mall occupies the top position in Lujiazui and is one of the oldest shopping malls in Shanghai Pudong New Area. 

The vacancy rate in the mall is now as high as 34%. 

After on-site visits, we found that the first and second floor at Super Brand Mall remains rather popular.  

Once it hits the third floor and above, it seems rather deserted, and lights at the entertainment outlets like KTV and movie spots remain dark. 

Image credit: Visual China Group

Shanghai Shimao Festival City is located on Nanjing East Road, one of the most prosperous business districts in Shanghai. 

With the huge traffic flow on Nanjing East Road, the mall’s interior is not as deserted as Super Brand Mall, but the overall vacancy rate of the mall still reaches 22.4%. 

These two shopping malls may have also faced challenges such as being seen as old malls with high rent and more, all leading to their high vacancy rate. 

However, Baoshan ASE Mall, which opened at the end of last year, ranks in the top three with a vacancy rate of 16.4%, largely due to the lockdown. 

It is the largest shopping mall in Baoshan District, and the occupancy rate reached about 85% when it first opened.

However, within eight months of the opening, five months affected by the epidemic, the occupancy rate has not increased but decreased.

According to friends nearby, Baoshan ASE Mall have relatively optimistic traffic on weekends, and the restaurants inside are full.

Raffles City

Among the 20 shopping malls surveyed by CAIC, about 10% have a vacancy rate of more than 20%, but the actual vacancy rate of Shanghai shopping malls may be higher than this.

In the first half of 2022, Winshang.com made statistics on the occupancy rate of 208 shopping malls in Shanghai, and 39% of shopping malls had a vacancy rate exceeding 10%. 

Of these, 18% of shopping malls had a vacancy rate of more than 20%, and some shopping malls had a vacancy rate of more than 50%. 

A typical mall is the Star Live in Changning District. When it opened in 2015, over 100 merchants settled in. 

Subsequently, the mall was involved in property rights disputes, affecting the occupancy rate of merchants. However, there were still some popular merchants before the outbreak.

Under the influence of the pandemic, these stores closed one after another, and the vacancy rate reached a new high. 

Today, very few merchants are operating above the second floor (the mall has six floors above ground), and the vacancy rate is about 70% (estimated based on the number of shops). 

In addition, Sincere Plaza, located on Wenshui Road in Jing'an District, was also quite popular when it opened.

Now, many vacant and "always renovated" shops can be seen in the mall.

In the first half of 2022, about 2,500 offline stores in China announced closures, and many entertainment-based merchants in Shanghai are still unable to open at present. 

Can Shanghai's shopping malls regain their former vitality?

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