Knight Frank Malaysia’s Penang branch executive director Mark Saw said the retail segment has been hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. “The continued closure of international borders and inter-state travel restrictions will have a huge impact on the continued low footfall at shopping malls"
“The continued closure of international borders and inter-state travel restrictions will have a huge impact on the continued low footfall at shopping malls.“However, with vaccination rates moving in the right direction, there is hope that once we all learn to live with Covid-19 and the pandemic becomes endemic, bringing some semblance of control and sense of normality, there could be a faster recovery for the retail sector,” he told StarBiz.
“Mall owners will need to continue to manage rental arrears and offer rental waivers, while encouraging more retailers to embrace e-commerce to capture the growing online shopping trend, and continue with cashless payment methods to sustain their businesses. Earlier this month, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said Malaysia could start preparing its move into an endemic Covid-19 phase by the end of October, with more people being fully vaccinated.
Rahim & Co Research noted that while prolonging restrictions will only worsen the current situation, it added that premature decisions could also bring about an even worse impact.