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F&B outlets may rethink real estate footprint as online sales grow

IREUS deputy director sees prime mall space falling out of favour as cloud kitchens become more popular

Fiona Lam

Published Thu, Jun 17, 2021 · 05:50 AM

Singapore F&B

Singapore

THE surge in online sales of food and beverage (F&B) is likely to slow down but prime mall space may, nonetheless, fall out of favour as cloud kitchens become more popular.

F&B retailers will probably have to rethink their operations and real estate footprint, said Lee Nai Jia, deputy director of the Institute of Real Estate and Urban Studies (IREUS) at the National University of Singapore.

He foresees greater reluctance by tenants to pay high rents for prime spaces in malls, "especially if it becomes a norm for social distancing to be implemented from time to time", as the Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) restrictions have dealt yet another blow to dine-in revenues.

Food establishments may want to relocate to cheaper locations and use the rental savings on more aggressive digital marketing to expand their outreach, Dr Lee said. Besides malls, alternatives where rents are …