The impact of Covid-19 on consumer behaviour – lessons to be learnt from the Latin America real estate shopping centre sector

The aim of this Real Estate Insight is to comment upon the impact of Covid on the shopping centre sector in the United States of America (USA) and lessons the USA can learn from Latin American shopping centres to survive and thrive.

This Real Estate Insight will comment upon the real estate shopping centre sector. The nature of the “Insights” briefings mean that this is a personal view of the author based on her visit to over 70 shopping centres in Latin America, specifically Brazil, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Paraguay during her 2022 sabbatical.

This paper looks at shopping centre industry in a transitional post-Covid 19 marketplace and concludes that the shopping centres in Latin American have taken many steps to integrate themselves into the fabric of the community.

The lessons learnt by owners of shopping centres in Latin America may help other investors with their management strategies in other centres globally.

Shopping is all about behaviour and social interaction. Vibrant centres encourage the community to use the centre as a focal point.

The value is to suggest strategies to help the shopping centre sector adapt, re-engineer change and thrive through challenging times.