Generation rent is taking hold on the high street and will form part of the vision when Croydon becomes home to the capital’s third Westfield.
John Burton, head of development for Westfield – part of the Croydon Partnership which along with Hammerson is bringing forward a £1.4billion retail scheme on the site of the existing shopping centre – said embracing changing shopping habits was key to delivering a successful development.
Speaking to a session on Cutting Edge Consumerism at the Develop Croydon Conference, Mr Burton said: “We have just completed a piece research called How We Shop Now. One of the most interesting things that came out of that was that, in this new sharing economy, we talk about people that fit the millennial profile, who are becoming known as generation rent.
“What generation rent do, they are really at the forefront of things like Uber and AirBnB, they don’t want to outlay big money for these type of things.
“What we are beginning to see is a very large percentage of those people in that 25-34 bracket who would prefer to spend about £200 a month on renting goods and services than make the investment.
“What they’re looking for is authenticity – the things they actually can’t afford they want for a special event. They don’t want to make the outlay long-term.
“We’ve just opened a shop we’ve got in the centre of California called Runway for Rent. And it is doing huge business. People will go in if they want the latest Louis Vuitton bag, or they want a pair of shoes or they want a piece technical equipment. But they simply don’t want to make that outlay.”
Mr Burton said part of the challenge was to find the retailers who will provide the authenticity and the experience to deliver this type of economy.
“At the retailer side what we all have to face up to is that, by and large the space race – and the idea that you build space and they will come – is over.
“The retailers have become far more selective about where they want space, the type of space they want and the experience the landlord will create.”