“With economic growth still buoyant across the region and expected to outperform the rest of the world in the coming years. As a result, demand from international retailers is continuing apace, attracted by an increasingly wealthy and sophisticated consumer base, along with a steadily improving retail infrastructure.” – Globally renowned real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield’s report on Asia

To revive the shopping mall scenes and commercial streets due to the various online stores competing for buyers through to the virtual luxury retails, the physical stores in shopping centres across the countries have been facing a slowdown.

10 Most Expensive Retail Locations by Country 2017

In fact, mall owners have been pouring substantial amount of money for overhauls in its retail spaces in hope of attracting customers again for a more elevating shopping experience.

That would often mean “demolishing excess space and making improvements to create room for restaurants and other attractions in a last ditch effort to prolong the life of ‘brick-and-mortar’ retail,” reported Bloomberg on August 8, 2017.

Also, shopping centres across the countries have been spending money on construction and “topped $1.6 billion in June, the largest amount since 2008 and the Great Recession.”

Builders alike, have seek ways to give the facade a major face-lift, and spent $404 million in April. And that is the second highest monthly total ever according to Census data, coming in behind July 2008.

While old things give way to newer developments, long-term plannings are necessary to keep the malls ever lively and dynamic as it has been before.

Mall landlords aim to lure shoppers back again, this time with a seamless shopping experience, incorporating cutting edge facilities, with a good mix of retails and international boutiques, including clothing, tech, food and beverage, health and beauty, fashion, sports and lifestyle brands, etc.

To be part of this growing cluster to track 451 top retail streets globally, ranking from the most expensive to the least across 68 countries, in terms of prime rental value, Globally renowned real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield recently published the annual “Main Streets Across The World” 2017 report, now in its 29th edition, to provide its proprietary data to shed light on the top 10 global retail trends.

MOST EXPENSIVE RETAIL LOCATIONS BY COUNTRY 2017

1. Upper 5th Avenue, New York City, USA – USD 3,000/sq ft/yr
2. Causeway Bay, Hong Kong – USD 2,725/sq ft/yr
3. Ginza, Tokyo, Japan – USD 1,200/sq ft/yr
4. Pitt Street Mall, Sydney, Australia – USD 1,000/sq ft/yr
5. Myeongdong, Seoul, South Korea – USD 914/sq ft/yr
6. Bourke Street, Melbourne, Australia – USD 500/sq ft/yr
7. Wang Fujing, Beijing, China – USD 477/sq ft/yr
8. West Nanjing Road, Shanghai, China – USD 399/sq ft/yr
9. Queen Street mall, Brisbane, Australia – USD 321/sq ft/yr
10. Orchard Road , Singapore, Singapore – USD 308/sq ft/yr

New York’s Upper 5th Avenue in New York City, USA still has the prime rental rates and it is the most expensive shopping location in the world at USD 3,000 sq ft per year.

Causeway Bay (main street shops) in Hong Kong claimed second spot at USD 2,725 sq ft per year, followed by Ginza in Tokyo, Japan at USD 1,200 sq ft per year.