Retail rent collections increased in July compared to earlier months during the pandemic. According to data from Datex Property Solutions, retail rent collections were 68.8% in mid-July, a 14.7% increase compared to mid-June and a 36.6% increase compared to mid-May. The increase in rent payments was likely due, at least in part, to the initial re-opening of the economy as well as retailers learning to serve customers in the new market.

"As we have gotten our arms around how to re-open the economy in the face of an active pandemic, more retail categories have been able to return to partial or full operations," Mark Sigal, CEO of Datex Property Solutions, tells GlobeSt.com. "This has enabled more retailers to generate income, and as we know, income is the oxygen needed to pay rent."

In addition to restrictions lifting, retailers also could put PPP money into action, and we started to see the benefits of that in July. "Landlords have worked closely with retailers to help them secure PPP loans and in tandem, negotiated a lot of rent relief agreements, which has provided a backstop for retailers to bridge the storm, so to speak," says Sigal. "Three, as landlords have gotten access to reports like ours, it's become clear which operators in which categories are paying, and which of their peers have been choosing not to pay. This has led to more landlords to pursue legal action on those tenants not paying their share, so it's been a combination of macro economy, some carrot and some stick."