Adds Matt Winn, Cushman & Wakefield's global retail COO and head of retail in the Americas,“Positive economic news, combined with healthy retailer fundamentals, continued to filter through into the USretail market. Prime rents over the year to September were up an impressive 10.6% on the same period last year. Indeed, strong retailer demand and robust tourist numbers continued to support expansions across the country, with gateway cities such a Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York in particular witnessing double-digit growth. The arrival of brands such as Microsoft, which recently announced its first flagship store in New York's Upper Fifth Avenue, further underlined the importance of these premier shopping destinations.”

Assserts Martin Mahmuti, senior investment analyst at Cushman & Wakefield, “The trend for major retail brands to experiment with design, layout, content and services, as they reinvent the concept of their flagship stores, is continuing to impact on major gateway city markets and will remain a key factor influencing growth in the year ahead. The growth of online shopping, supporting the polarization in the market in favor of the biggest and the best, will increasingly drive retailer expansion strategies while having a structural impact on local markets.”