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Adelaide retail spending rose 2.6 percent year-on-year in March 2025, up from 2.2 percent in December 2024, while household spending lifted 5.2 percent in August 2025 amid easing cost-of-living pressures.
The increase coincides with several high-profile store commitments that favour established suburban sites and one prominent CBD location. Retailers tracking foot traffic and lease availability now see clearer signals about where demand is concentrating.
New stores target Burnside Village and Rundle Mall
New Balance opened at Rundle Mall in November 2025. Salomon and a two-storey MECCA flagship both opened at Burnside Village. Adore Beauty launched its first South Australian store at Westfield Marion. These additions sit alongside moves by Tiffany & Co., Zimmerman, Morrison and Georg Jensen, which left Adelaide CBD addresses to open at Burnside Shopping Centre.
The pattern shows operators choosing locations with existing foot traffic and recent investment rather than waiting for broader CBD recovery. Suburban centres with anchor tenants and parking capacity captured the first wave of new commitments.
Construction pipeline and vacancy shift
Some 37,900 square metres of retail space remains under construction across Adelaide, with completion expected by the third quarter of 2026. Adelaide CBD vacancy rose to 9.3 percent in the first half of 2025, reversing an earlier downward trend. E-commerce captured 24 percent of total Australian retail activity in 2025, up from 11.8 percent the previous year.
Developers and landlords are therefore prioritising projects already under way while monitoring how the completed space affects lease negotiations in both suburban and central precincts. Retailers evaluating entry points can compare current vacancy data against the locations that have already secured new tenants.
Operators weighing new sites should review lease availability at Burnside Village and Westfield Marion first, then assess remaining CBD options against the 9.3 percent vacancy figure before committing capital.
Sources:
Source material used in preparing this article is listed below so readers can check the original record.
Covering business in Adelaide. This article was generated by AI from the linked sources, under human editorial accountability and risk-based review and our reasonable editorial care. Sensitive material is held for human review before publication. See our reasonable editorial care.
Beta: AI-assisted and human-overseen. Details may be imperfect, so please verify anything important.
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