This was confirmed with Morningside Shopping Centre’s December 2015 trade figures, which saw its shopper numbers soar by 13.76% compared with December 2014.

Unsurprisingly, this popular bespoke community shopping centre in Sandton’s upmarket suburb Morningside, also reported significant growth in turnover in the latter half of the year.

Morningside Shopping Centre added to its already excellent convenience and grocery retail and heightened its strong restaurant appeal even further. It also moved and resized some stores for a better retail configuration.

The cumulative benefits of its polished, hand-picked mix of shops, restaurants and services, delivered impressive trading results as the year progressed.

Sharon Henry, Centre Manager of Morningside Shopping Centre, comments: “The response to our new tenant mix at the centre has been phenomenal. We believe it is important to really listen to our customers’ retail and leisure needs and to demonstrate this understanding by giving them what they want.”

Chris Fleming of Morningside Shopping Centre co-owner Grapnel Property Group, says: “Morningside Shopping Centre is significantly outperforming retail sector sales growth and has delivered not only an excellent retail performance for the festive season, but also throughout the year.”

The centre’s enriched mix of restaurants and shops has proved popular with shoppers week-in and week-out. While Morningside Shopping Centre attracts a relatively consistent number of shoppers every day of the week, their favourite day to visit the centre by a small margin, is Friday.

Paul Gerard of Morningside Shopping Centre co-owner Flanagan & Gerard Property Development & Investment, reports: “Our leasing strategy puts our shoppers first. This includes providing them with the highest level of customer service. By tailoring our choice of restaurants and retail to our community of shoppers, we’re helping meet their everyday needs, which gives them ever more compelling reasons to visit the centre.”

Henry says that while the major changes resulting from Morningside Shopping Centre’s highly focused leasing strategy are now complete, the centre is always looking for innovative ways to improve its customer experience. “We will continue to handpick our selection of stores, services and eateries to delight our shoppers.”