His talk will coincide with the launch of the Broll Retail Consumer Survey 2014, conducted by Broll Property Group, an affiliate of CBRE - a leading global commercial real estate and investment firm.
This survey, conducted by IPSOS, was based on a sample size of 1,000 individuals undertaken throughout South Africa in order to understand the retail consumer market in the country.
One of the themes that came out of this report is that consumers in South Africa think about the overall experience of the shopping destination and not just about the choice of retail offerings. However, more importantly, when it comes to where to go shopping, consumers think about many factors: mall cleanliness tops the list (being most important), followed by security, price of products, availability of coffee shops and free Wi-Fi among others.
Internationally, many retailers are trying to find out what mix of online, in-store and e-commerce works best for consumers and how to build a strategy around this.
Gold explains that globally, wherever consumers shop, they expect landlords to get the basics right - they want value for money, a secure and clean centre, convenience and parking facilities. "The experience comes with the brands, the types of retailers, size of store and the differentiating factors such as Wi-Fi, restaurants and the social aspects of shopping."
According to CBRE's latest survey 'How Consumers Shop 2014', consumers also want to visit shops that regularly host events such as fashion shows/movie launches and those with a variety of coffee shops to enhance their mall experience. However, this is not as important as the basics.
The report reveals that many consumers have seen improvements in their shopping centres over the past three years, with countries such as South Africa, Turkey, Romania, France and Poland seeing the most improvements.
He says shopping centres in most of these markets (excluding France) are relatively new in comparison to the rest of Europe and Central and Eastern European markets, especially in Turkey.
Similarly, these markets are also under-represented in terms of international retailers compared to the top retail destinations of the world so it is only natural that in terms of new brands coming in, they would see high activity.
The survey also shows that consumers are reportedly comfortable using multi-channels for researching and buying process, however, in South Africa, Belgium, Hungary and Spain, they prefer going to an actual store, compared to buying online.
Online retail poses challenges - retailers have to create a seamless experience across all channels and some are still trying to figure out how best to do this while in some markets, online is still new territory.
"Consumers have the same expectations of an online experience as in store, so retailers need to ensure they give consumers the same experience with their brand across all channels."
Delivery costs and logistics are also challenges, as consumers do not want to pay for delivery nor do they want to have to wait for that delivery when they can go into a store and pick it up free and have the product there and then. It is not country specific but retailer specific.
Consumers are likely to stick to habits that are familiar and common over the next several years - until 2030. Beyond this, the next generation of shoppers will be more flexible in the retail channels with which they engage.
"While online and mobile retail channels will become ever more prevalent, brick-and-mortar stores will still play a major role in delivering retail to consumers and will continue to do so well into 2050," concludes Gold.
"In South Africa, we are starting to see a lot more retail centres in previously disadvantaged areas outside of main cities and towns," adds Broll CEO, Malcolm Horne.
"Perhaps one thing that could be improved is that when these centres are built, public transport becomes a part of it because consumers who would normally use these centres take taxis. They spend money on transport, thus reducing their retail spend."
Referring to the Broll Retail Consumer Survey 2014, he says South African consumers over the past three years have seen great improvements in shopping centre renovations and the addition of international retailers in some centres.
Consumers now have a wider range of goods and services to choose from; however, because international retail brands are aimed at areas and shopping centres that are more affluent, this does not affect the entire retail market in South Africa.
In Africa, while there is a need for sophisticated and formal retail, many investors still replicate the South African model. Africa is a diverse continent and, because markets differ, countries have to be looked at individually.
"Retail in Africa was and is traditionally in the form of high street shops, with mostly informal trading, and now, with the rise of the so-called emerging consumer, we are seeing retail developments coming up in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda and Kigali."
He says it points to a need and readiness of consumers to embrace this type of retail format.
However, as to whether this consumer story is sustainable is concerning because Africa's population is still young and youth unemployment in some parts of the continent is very high, so this could curb consumer and retail spending.
He adds that African consumers know more about global brands than retailers often think they do; they are connected and are aware of international fashion trends and prices. Many of these consumers are young and travel to cities such as London and New York and would undoubtedly buy what they want either while visiting or could travel to shop.
"For a retailer wanting to target this type of consumer, a copy and paste model of what works in South Africa is not ideal, they want quality at a good price," Horne concludes.
