Atlanta Retail Market Report

Retailers following metro’s substantial residential growth. Robust population gains are supporting Atlanta’s retail sector through mounting economic turbulence. The metro will note the fourth-highest net migration figure among major metros in 2023, boosting demand for goods and services as these new residents enter the market. This year’s tenant move-ins also reflect the metro’s expanding headcount. Necessity retailers are heavily featured among larger leases, with Kroger and Publix each opening three locations across the metro. These storefronts are positioned in Atlanta proper, as well as the more affluent northern suburbs, which attract the bulk of the metro’s population growth. Tight retail operations reflect this burgeoning demand. Atlanta marked its ninth consecutive quarter in which net absorption exceeded additions in early 2023, bringing vacancy to a record low of 4.1 percent entering April.