Burlington, MA KeyPoint Partners, LLC has released The KeyPoint Report for Southern New Hampshire 2016, according to Bob Sheehan, vice president of research. This comprehensive retail real estate report examines supply, occupancy, absorption, and retailer expansion and contraction for virtually every retail property in the region. This year’s report features a ten-year historical report on expansion and contraction in all major retail tenant categories in the region from 2006 to the present.

 According to the report, total retail space for the region was 28.9 million s/f. Occupancy was down, which brought the vacancy rate to 10.5 from 9.6 a year ago. FitLab Fitness Club led retailers in new square footage in the region, adding 86,400 s/f, and tied with Mattree Firm for first in new store count, each adding 5 units. Other retailers high in the expansion ranks include Dick’s Sporting Goods, Walmart, and Aldi Food Market

The special section, a ten-year historical report, tracks expansion and contraction since 2006 among all major retail tenant categories in the region, Sheehan says, gives a clear picture of how social values, shopping habits, and lifestyle choices of shoppers have changed the retail real estate landscape.

“The Beauty Supplies and Cosmetics category ranked highest by expansion in the region, both by square footage and store count, over the past decade. Space in that category increased by a whopping 177%. This was mainly due to the entry of Ulta Beauty into the area in 2011,” Sheehan said. “In terms of contraction, Electronics Stores showed the largest decrease in both square footage and store count.”

The report is based on KeyPoint Partners’ GRIIDÔ, a powerful source of retail market knowledge that maintains detailed information on virtually every retail property in keyNew England markets. The Eastern Massachusetts report includes 39 cities and towns, representing more than 835 square miles and approximately 550,300 people (42% of the state population).