5.

Retail land

5.1 Introduction
In 2006, more than 93,500 people in Greater Adelaide were employed in the retail sector (including
accommodation and food services), making it one of the region's most significant employment sectors (Table
5.1). Importantly, the very nature of retailing, unlike many other sectors, means that jobs are spread across the
Adelaide region, providing local employment opportunities.
During the inter-censal period from 2001 to 2006, the number of people employed in retailing in the Adelaide
Statistical Division (ASD) increased by an average of 1200 people a year.21, The 30-Year Plan for Greater
Adelaide (the Plan) has a target of an additional 44,100 retailing jobs over 30 years.
There is rarely a straightforward correlation between retail activity and employment. Increased retail activity
is often not accompanied by a commensurate increase in jobs. Retailing is vital for the vibrancy of cities and
towns, and for the function of its centres. In Retailing Futures and Activity Centres Planning Discussion Paper,
SGS Economics and Planning described retail as 'fundamental to the functionality of existing and future
centres'.
The report went on, 'It is important for government to understand how levers available to it can work to achieve
well-located shopping and to integrate shopping with other uses in lively activity centres. However retailing
is changing rapidly. It is a challenge for policy and controls to keep up with the evolution of retailing and to
promote diverse uses within retail focussed centres.'22

Table 5.1 Number of people working in retailing, 2006 Census

South Australian Type of retail

Government Region
Trade Accommodation and food services Total
Northern Adelaide 14,461 4738 19,199
Western Adelaide 11,536 4478 16,014
Eastern Adelaide 16,960 11,102 28,062
Southern Adelaide 14,269 6262 20,531
Barossa 2288 1376 3664
Adelaide Hills 2410 1181 3591
Fleurieu (excl. Kangaroo Island) 1415 1074 2489
Total 63,339 30,211 93,550

SOURCE: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006 Census of Population and Housing, ABS, Canberra, 2007.

21 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 'ASD Retail Trade Count of Employed Persons', 2006 Census of Population and Housing, ABS, Canberra. The number of people
employed in retail in the ASD at the 2001 Census was 70,041 and in 2006, 76,141.
22 SGS Economics and Planning, Retailing Futures and Activity Centres Planning Discussion Paper, report prepared by SGS for the Department of Sustainability and
Environment, Government of Victoria, 2006, p. 1.

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 The Plan provides a typology for activity centres that is a hierarchy for retailing in Greater Adelaide (Figure 5.1)
and provides the guide for the region's retail structure.
The Plan identifies significant future growth areas in the Northern Adelaide and Barossa regions and
expansion of existing urban centres, most notably Mount Barker and the Southern Fleurieu areas of Victor
Harbor and Goolwa. These will have important implications for retail activity and the hierarchy. Increased retail
activity will occur in a variety of other locations, including transit corridors, transit-oriented developments,
mixed-use zones (Figure 5.1, Note), and also within the established retail hierarchy.
5 Retail land

Figure 5.1 Activity centre typology and retail hierarchy

Adelaide City centre

Provides the primary cultural and economic hub for South Australia and Greater Adelaide.
High quality specialty retail

Regional centres
Major strategic centres with full services

Major district centres

Major retail and business centres serving immediate subregional residential population

District centres
Large centres providing a significant role for retail and also with office,
community and entertainment facilities

Bulky goods centres

Large centres concentrated on large DIY and household retail stores

Specialist centres
Include major airports, hospitals, universities and research/business
centres – limited retail activity

Neighbourhood centres
Serve local residential communities and incorporate a retail function
and services for daily/weekly needs

Local centres
Largely provide for daily retail needs of local neighbourhoods

NOTE: Ideal locations for mixed-use developments include activity centres, transit nodes, areas surrounding employment nodes,
parts of the city centre and urban regeneration areas. DPLG, The 30-Year Plan for Greater Adelaide, DPLG, Adelaide, 2010, p. 220.

SOURCE: DPLG, The 30-Year Plan for Greater Adelaide, Appendix 3, DPLG, Adelaide, 2010.

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5.2 Trends in retailing
'Retailing is a dynamic industry and many factors influence the nature and extent of change in this important
sector of the economy. Key factors include the underlying growth in average per capita spending (reflecting
economic prosperity and growth in disposable incomes) and increasing population levels. As a result of
industry innovation and corporate and institutional factors, new retail formats are regularly introduced to the
Australian retail scene by a combination of home-grown retailers and new retail entities from abroad.'23
The major retail trends affecting the Greater Adelaide region include:

Changes in the retail hierarchy

New and emerging trends affecting the retail hierarchy include changes in the nature of CBD retailing,
deregulation of shopping hours, expansion of shopping centres in the suburbs, larger supermarkets, cost
of car parking for the consumer, increased retail activity out of shopping centres, mixed uses, discounting
by the major stores, and factory or direct outlet activities.

Changes in the social structure and lifestyle patterns

Some major changes in social structure and lifestyle of the population identified by SGS Economics and
Planning include:
ƒƒ declining average household size
ƒƒ an ageing population
ƒƒ increasing part-time employment
ƒƒ longer working hours (for example, cash rich but time poor)
ƒƒ increasing workforce participation rate (for example, more women in the workforce)
ƒƒ deregulation (for example, extended shopping hours)
ƒƒ town centre-style development (open shopping centres mixed with residential)
ƒƒ technology
ƒƒ globalisation.24

Market segmentation – demand

The major changes in market segmentation of demand are caused by population growth, composition of
the population and consumer wealth. A significant change in recent times has been the impact of consumer
goods imported from China, which has resulted in a significant drop in the price of household items and
apparel, thus increasing consumer spending power.

23 Essential Economics Pty Ltd, Activity Centres Review Technical Report – Planning Strategy for Greater Adelaide, report prepared for DPLG, Government of South
Australia, 2008, p. ii.
24 SGS Economics and Planning, Retailing Futures and Activity Centres Planning Discussion Paper, report prepared for the Department of Sustainability and
Environment, Government of Victoria, 2006, p. 2.

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 Market segmentation – supply
Decisions by the retailer regarding the location, type and quality of establishment are always a calculated risk
that will affect demand. A major trend recently has been the mass market/price driven retail business model,
such as Bunnings Warehouse and Harvey Norman.

Corporate restructuring and impact on market

Although the retail market predominantly consists of small- and medium-sized businesses, the top four
5 Retail land

retailers (Coles Group, Woolworths, Harvey Norman and David Jones) account for 30 per cent of total sales
revenue.25 Decisions by these organisations have consolidated retailing directions in Greater Adelaide in
recent years.

Change in retail format

The trends in retail format include:
ƒƒ the increasing size and influence of major supermarkets, as well as an increase in smaller convenience
stores (for example, IGA)
ƒƒ the significant increase in larger clusters of bulky household goods retailers, particularly demanding
high-profile extensive areas with car parking outside centres
ƒƒ the change in the type of retailing in the CBD
ƒƒ the rise of the large specialist store (for example, Harvey Norman, IKEA and Bunnings Warehouse)
ƒƒ the decline of the 'department store', largely as a result of the increase in specialist stores
ƒƒ the growing importance of the 'shopping street' associated with extended shopping hours, food and coffee.

Change due to new technology

The increasing use of the internet at home has resulted in a growth of home-based shopping. The trend is
greater with particular types of products, such as music and books, and services such as travel, where the
product is a known commodity.

25 ibid., p. 4.

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5.3 Growth in floor space
In the 15 years since the 1991–92 Retail Census26, there has been a significant growth in retail floor space
in Greater Adelaide, with average per capita provision increasing from 1.98 m2 to 2.34 m2.
Average per capita provision of retail floor space varies across the metropolitan region; for example, it is
higher in inner parts of Adelaide than in outer suburbs. In comparing Adelaide's floor space with available
data for other capital cities, it can broadly be concluded that the city's current floor space is relatively high.
Retail floor space growth from 1999 to 2007 has mainly involved the replacement of small supermarkets with
larger ones, and a significant increase in homemaker shopping.27 The latter partly explains the substantial
amount of development that has occurred outside designated higher-order centres from 1999 to 2007.
Growth outside these centres is occurring faster than growth in the centres, and there has been only limited
success in directing retail development to identified centres. As well as the boom in homemaker retail, another
likely reason for this is difficulty in accommodating new retail formats into the existing policy hierarchy.
Nonetheless, higher-order shopping centres (subregional and above) still account for 50 per cent of total retail
provision in Greater Adelaide, and bulky goods precincts account for about 10 per cent (noting that traditional
centres also offer homemaker retail).
Food as a proportion of total shopping centre floor space is much higher at lower levels in the retail hierarchy
than in the higher-order centres.
Spatial analysis shows that generally there is a close concordance between the retail roles of major centres
in metropolitan Adelaide and the current policy designations given to each centre, with some exceptions. For
example, in the Western Adelaide region, West Lakes and Arndale are designated district centres but have a
greater retail role than Port Adelaide, which is a designated regional centre.
The high turnover of retail shops, mostly associated with profitability, means that activities change frequently.
Retail, particularly in small centres, can often be displaced by commercial activities such as real estate,
medical therapies and accounting. Planning has little control over this process, which can result in a loss of
local access to shops.
Neighbourhood and local centres are also under threat from competition from large-scale retailing. During
1999–2007, 12 small centres comprising 56 shops closed. However, the intention is for local shopping access
to increase and smaller centres to become significantly more important, associated with the Plan's policies to
increase residential density and to place emphasis on mixed-use activity.
Depending on their place in the hierarchy, retail centres often require up to an additional 25 per cent of floor
space to accommodate non-retail functions, such as office, entertainment, health, and community and civic
facilities.
In Greater Adelaide it is expected that the new retailing formats, including homemaker and factory outlet
centres and large discount warehouses, will continue to emerge. They will need to be accommodated if we do
not want to lose this new investment.
The creation of transit-oriented developments (TODs), designated by the Plan, will affect both the demand
and supply of retail floor space and, to some extent, market regions. This will require close monitoring in future
editions of the HELSP Report.

26 Australian Bureau of Statistics, Retail Census 1991–92, ABS, Canberra, 1994.

27 DPLG, Retail Database 2007, DPLG, Government of South Australia, 2008.

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 5.4 Retail land requirements
Essential Economics' Activities Centres Review Technical Report 28 produced two series of retail demand
projections for Greater Adelaide – medium and high growth – based on DPLG's medium- and high-growth
population projections. (Note: the high-growth population projections are almost identical to those ultimately
used in the Plan.)
The retail demand projection for Greater Adelaide in line with the Plan's population targets was 1.61 million m2
5 Retail land

over 29 years (to 2036). The land requirement for this level of retail development was then calculated using a
floor space to land area ratio of 35 per cent floor space (land area needs to include car parking, access and
landscaping). The result was 460 ha, or about 16 ha a year over 29 years. The floor space to land area ratio
was checked against DPLG's Retail Database and the results were found to be very similar.
The Retail Database shows that from 1999 to 2007, 35 per cent of new retail development occurred on existing
sites, that is, it required no additional land (Figure 5.2). Applying this factor to the forecast 16 ha of new retail
land each year reduces the requirement for new land to 10 ha. This amount can be accommodated over the
first 15 years of the Plan (that is, 10 ha a year equates to 150 ha).
The Retail Database shows that between 1999 and 2007, 14 per cent of the requirement for new retail land was
in new centres, while the remaining 86 per cent was within the boundaries of, or adjacent to, existing centres. If
this trend continues, only 1.4 ha a year of the projected new retail land would be required for new centres.
New centres will be built where there is large-scale new residential development, most likely in the major
growth areas defined in the Plan: particularly the new development areas of the Barossa region, and Buckland
Park, Virginia and Angle Vale in Northern Adelaide. It will be important to promote and enhance retail and
commercial development to meet the needs of current and new communities.
While there will continue to be retail activity in the established urban areas, it is more likely to be centred in
TODs and opportunistic locations (for example, Harbour Town within the Adelaide Airport site). Major changes
in existing retail trade areas will be driven by retailing trends, such as those outlined above, and will depend to
a much lesser extent on land availability.

Figure 5.2 Retail growth by centre type location, 1999–2007

Existing centres
– New sites within or adjacent
to existing centre boundary
– May need rezoning

Existing centres
– On existing retail sites

New centres
– Usually in growth areas
– Estimate of land required
based on population increase

NOTE: DPLG has very limited influence in existing centres, but does influence retail development in new centres.

28 Essential Economics Pty Ltd, Activity Centres Review Technical Report – Planning Strategy for Greater Adelaide, report prepared for DPLG, Government of South
Australia, 2008.

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5.5 Retailing analysis and planning implications
Retail is one of Greater Adelaide's most important industry sectors in terms of its contribution to employment,
the economy, and the functionality of existing and future activity centres. The Plan recognises its significant
role, particularly in future employment projections.
DPLG's Retail Database is a key resource for current state government information, analysis, and decision-
making. However, the database would benefit from collaboration with industry. In particular, the Property
Council of Australia's annual South Australian Shopping Centre Directory has a data set and production
frequency that could be of mutual benefit to the strong spatial content of the Retail Database.
Improving the data is fundamental to monitoring the dynamics of and trends in retailing, which in turn are
major parts of an informative HELSP that is capable of enabling efficient investment and directing sustainable
growth, infrastructure provision and clear policy development.
Retail policy development must respond to the changes that retailing trends are making on the hierarchy and
location. It is significant that market-driven factors and the dynamic nature of retail trends will become major
factors in retail planning.

5.6 Actions
ƒƒ DPLG to consider retail needs as part of the structure planning process in new urban areas and particularly
the Northern and Barossa regions.
ƒƒ In regard to the policy for TODs and transit corridors, analysis of the composition of the mixed-use activity
in the TODs will be required and its overall impact on retailing activities within designated areas of Greater
Adelaide.
ƒƒ During the next 12 months, DPLG, in conjunction with the Property Council of Australia will continue to
develop joint database capacity to be able to include an annual overview of retail property issues related to
the Plan targets in future editions of the HELSP Report.

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