Cape Town - The number of retailers in Cape Town Central Business District (CBD) has now surpassed pre-pandemic levels, according to the Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID).
As the country and the rest of the world starts to pick up the pieces, the CCID said that nearly 80% of the 230 retailers it surveyed in the city centre during the first quarter of 2023, indicated that they were “satisfied” with current business conditions.
The CCID said that one of the key reasons underpinning business confidence is that certain key parts of the CBD are insulated against load shedding.
“A large number of businesses and residents in town are shielded from power disruptions suffered by the rest of the country. This has been a particularly important benefit during Q1 of 2023, when higher levels of load shedding were the norm.
“In December 2019 a few months before the pandemic there were 1237 estimated retail outlets in the CBD, according to the State of Cape Town Central City Report 2020 – A year in review, published by the CCID.
By the end of 2020, this had decreased to 1163 but the retail sector was quick to adjust to the new trading conditions, and as lockdown restrictions eased, the sector quickly recovered,” the CCID said.
It said that by the end of last year, the number of retailers had risen to an estimated 1243 – with new businesses continuing to open in 2023.
The CCID said that in the first quarter of 2023, the vast majority of retailers indicated that they were satisfied that their businesses were well-placed for the current business environment, and those who did plan to make changes were focused on hiring additional staff and extending trading hours.
Grandt Mason, from Sophron, said that the CBD had seen a significant change with an increase in tenancy but there was still room for improvement.
“With regards to the retail offering there is still room for improvement of the quality of the retail experience.
“One needs to have a really good understanding of the people who use the CBD. It is essentially the foot traffic that has the potential to support these kinds of business but the offering needs to be considered and curated to amplify the quality and the experience.
Unfortunately all too often, landlords end up letting to spaza shops or tobacco shops which we have an oversupply of in the CBD.
While there is a need for these types of retailers, an oversupply is not attractive to potential tenants looking to offer quality retail such as a local fashion boutique,” he said.
Cape Times