Charlotte Retail Market Report

Big-box, single-tenant demand stands out. Charlotte headed into 2026 with accelerating net absorption while maintaining one of the 10 lowest vacancy rates among major markets. This momentum has primarily been driven by big-box, single-tenant move-ins, most of which involved supermarkets like Publix, Harris Teeter, and Lowes Foods. Fitness concepts also contributed notably. At the same time, smaller-format, single-tenant leasing velocity has slowed modestly, with discount retailers still accounting for a large share of recent activity. Multi-tenant properties also head into the new year with muted net absorption after an extended stretch of strong demand from 2020 through 2024. However, a narrowing development pipeline constituting an overwhelming share of build-to-suits with scant multi-tenant formats is expected to bring some relief to this segment of the market in the coming year.