Retail Insights: A new quarterly report from Urbis and the Shopping Centre Council of Australia

Urbis and the Shopping Centre Council of Australia (SCCA) have launched the inaugural edition of Retail Insights, a new quarterly report providing the latest data, trends, and insights shaping Australia's shopping centres and retail property.

The report covers key metrics of retail spending, customer foot traffic, retail leasing deals, and occupancy rates to provide a consumer and economic snapshot of activity across Australia’s shopping centre and retail property industry; and with quarterly reporting to enable a transparent and strategic view.

Read the full report here.

Key highlights within this first edition include:

• Consumer spending remains strong at Australia’s shopping centres, with annual retail turnover up 3.2% over the last year (compared to year end June 2025).

• Retail leasing demand remains strong with leasing deals led by food catering (39.6%), apparel (19%) and retail services (17.1%).

• Nationally, foot traffic remained strong with a 2% growth.

Elliott Rusanow, Chair of the SCCA said these insights enhanced the industry’s capability, helping to underpin engagement with key stakeholders by providing credible and industry-based data and evidence.

"Shopping centres are a vital part of Australia’s economy and communities, supporting 1.4 million jobs, generating around $200 billion in annual retail trade and providing retail and essential services that millions of Australians rely on every day."

“The Retail Insights report is part of our research partnership with Urbis and complements the Urbis Shopping Centre Benchmarks and the SCCA/Urbis Statutory Charges Database which together provide the industry’s most comprehensive data and insights," he said.

Ian Shimmin, Director, Urbis said the SCCA member data which forms the basis of Retail Insights allowed the industry to speak more directly and credibly about what’s happening on the ground.