Boston Retail Market Report

Operations remain tight downtown, despite foot traffic headwinds. Boston was one of the few major metros to see an increase in remote work from June 2022 to October 2023, with more than 46 percent of office employees working fully from home late last year, based on estimates from Oxford Economics. While this will impact tenants dependent on commuter foot traffic, retail concepts debuting this year indicate retailers are bullish on downtown consumer activity. The Prudential Center will be home to a Dick’s Sporting Goods “House of Sport” location, joining a Google store as one of the new retail offerings in the Back Bay opening in 2024. Vacancy in Boston proper has held in the low-2 percent range since early 2021, indicating retailers are backfilling move-outs. The supply side offers even more news for optimism. Although inventory expansion has traditionally been constrained by available parcels, starts have fallen further in recent years. Entering 2024, less than 260,000 square feet in the construction pipeline remained unaccounted for, boding well for vacancy for the foreseeable future.