The new year will see many trends and influences in retail, starting with the risque movie, Fifty Shades of Grey, which is expected to trigger a rise in lingerie sales.
It is hoped the boom in demand will translate to higher sales, at a time when rents, particularly in capital cities area on the ascendancy.
Movies and other events have long been a source of inspiration for retailers. Kids' movies, in particular, are a great money-making machine for a range of retailers, from food outlets - think cups at fast food outlets, to the Frozen phenomena and Star Wars, to every action figure and the ubiquitious Toy Story trilogy.
Anything that can be seized upon and used as an image on a cup, cake, as clothing and bedding, among a multitude of merchandise, will be.
According to EDITD, a UK-based retail analytics agency, in September, the current Queen Elizabeth the second, will overtake her grandmother, Queen Victoria, as the longest reigning monarch, which is tipped to shine a global spotlight on brands which place British heritage at their core.
"Look out, Burberry, and Mulberry, which may get the lift they've been working towards. The popularity of Spring 2015's military trend undoubtedly will carry forward into Fall 2015, feeding retailer's desire for regality and regiment," the report says.
And just in case there are any flares, culottes [long shorts] and denim clothes in the back of the wardrobe, from a few decades ago, dig them out and wear them with pride this year.
To ensure there is even more connectivity between retailers and customers, in coming months more online apps and widely available collection points will be rolled out to snare the ever reclusive shopper.
The forecast surge in sales from movies, births and other global events, comes as central business district markets have seen 3.7 per cent growth in national rents in 2014, underpinned by a significant 10.7 per cent rental hike in NSW.
The stores are all looking for ways to entice customers to spend and the overseas groups are leading the way.
CBRE's head of research, Australia, Stephen McNabb, said expectations for rent growth are improving across most parts of the retail sector reflecting the improved trading conditions and sales growth seen in 2014.
"Retailer profit margins have fallen in the past two quarters due to rising competition and the weakening Australian dollar but are still relatively high after a period of consolidation and cost cutting," Mr McNabb said.
He said a key driver of CBD rental growth has been the continued entrance of foreign retailers.
"We expect domestic retailers to either be willing to pay higher rents or relocate to secondary locations. Domestic retailers are also repositioning and reinventing themselves to target niches between the mass and high-end luxury markets such as the fast growing 'affordable luxury'," he said.
CBRE national director, retail services, Alistair Palmer said another 2015 trend is expected to involve more leasing activity from luxury foreign retailers as opposed to fast fashion retailers, who have largely secured their CBD flagship stores. A few dozen luxury food and beverage retailers are searching for opportunities in 2015 and beyond.
"The new offshore entrants had vertically integrated supply chains and/or sheer economic of scale at all stages of the supply chain which gave them a competitive advantage in terms of higher gross margins, allowing them to service higher occupancy costs and secure prime CBD locations," Mr Palmer said.
