Brokers: Retail rebounding in big way across Northern Nevada

by Rob Sabo

What a difference a year makes. Twelve months ago, the Northern Nevada retail market was murkier than Virginia Lake. State-mandated closures and reduced occupancy limits had retailers reeling, with no relief in sight.

Fast forward to the third quarter of 2021, however, and it’s clear there’s been more than just a soft rebound as retailers and consumers alike adjusted to pandemic-related restrictions.

While staffing continues to be a pressing concern for many regional businesses — especially among restaurateurs and quick-serve eateries — and nagging supply chain issues are also proving troublesome, Northern Nevada’s retail industry has clawed back from those challenging times.

It’s not just a regional phenomenon, either. Roxanne Stevenson, senior vice president of retail services at Colliers International, said nationwide retail rental collections plummeted 60% in April 2020. But by August 2021, they had rebounded to about 92% of pre-pandemic levels, with strong retail sales driving those positive gains.

“We thought so many more businesses would be closing — and it did affect a lot of people,” Stevenson said. “We thought there would be a lot of space to lease — especially restaurant space — but it was not what we expected. We also had a lot of people waiting to take advantage of restaurants closing so they could step in and benefit from all those expensive improvements.”

According to the state’s Department of Taxation, taxable sales in Washoe County for July totaled just over $1 billion, a 23% increase from a year earlier. Taxable sales for June, meanwhile, were up 30% year-over-year at $1.16 billion.

Taxable sales for couriers and messengers, which includes home-delivery businesses such as Postmates, DoorDash and Instacart, rose nearly 1,600% in June and 1,200% in July.

Read the entire article in the NNBW: https://www.nnbw.com/news/2021/oct/27/brokers-retail-rebounding-big-way-across-northern-/