Florida Big Box Growth 2023

Over 70% of retail GLA is leased to "Big Boxes" is the shopping center ecosystem. In 2023, far more anchors opened than closed.

Dollar General and Publix led the 100 companies operating big box stores in Florida. Today's leaders are far different than past years where mega chains like Walmart, Target, Lowes, Home Depot and Costco dominated.

Big Box is Booming, and it’s Mostly Going into Preexisting Space

The big box market has consistently been resilient against the pressures of the pandemic. In 2021, big box retailers opened a net of 182 new locations in Florida, totaling over 4.0 million square feet of space.

With nearly no new retail shopping center construction, most big boxes aren’t expanding by going into new construction projects – instead, they are going into existing shopping centers or building freestanding box spaces.

 Grocery stores and discount stores account for 75% of the box store growth.  Those two areas have a good deal of overlapping sales and, as a result, they are fiercely competing to win the hearts of consumers. We are witnessing an epic battle where scale, logistics, site selection and technology are being deployed to win market share.  Stay tuned – we will have regular updates on the winners and the losers.