Over the forecast period value growth in retailing is expected to be driven by consumers trading up to more expensive products as their purchasing power increases. Hence, retailers will be exploring options to persuade consumers to trade up.

In addition, many will also be embarking on innovative advertising campaigns in order to boost their brand appeal in an increasingly packed retail environment. Players are also expected to aggressively expand into suburban and rural areas to provide shopping convenience to people in these areas.

Global consumer spending remained cautious in the aftermath of the global financial crisis persistently in these uncertain economic times.

However, a strong performance and rapid development have fuelled a steady growth in the Asia retail market, with a fair number of both international and domestic players expanding their operations.

As the regional governments have been putting in efforts to help modernize and upgrade the retail outlets of domestic small independent players, others that fail to modernize quickly may find themselves being squeezed out of the market.