Teen retailers lost track of their core customer's wants and needs, the report suggests. Beyond increased price competition, teens' spending habits have also changed over time. In an annual survey, 14- to 24-year-olds in 2008 with $1,000 chose to spend twice as much on clothing as electronics. In 2015, they spent $300 on electronics and only $275 on clothing, revealing a marked shift in priority.

In retail real estate, the health ratio describes the ratio of overall occupancy costs to net sales. CoStar purports that a normal mall tenant's health ratio averages between 11 – 12%. For the five who explicitly reported all occupancy costs, the health ratios are illuminating, averaging just under 17%.

Next, Crossman explored how retailers may be over-leveraged with debt that impacts their ability to evolve to meet the demands of an ever-changing marketplace. The firm unearthed a surprising trend in the relationship that retail has with the private equity sector. Of the 13 teen retailers studied, half have had interactions with private equity, most often in the form of a leveraged buyout. In many of these cases, a private equity firm raises funds to buy all the outstanding stock of a publicly traded retailer.

Which retailers will win in 2017? Check out my column for some insights.

MIAMI—There's a lot of discussion about how Millennials are impacting commercial real estate. But what about today's teenagers?

Crossman & Company just released its Southeast US Market Report Q3 2016 Update: Lessons Learned from Teen Retailers. The research offers retail landlords perspective in evaluating potential tenants to determine whether they are a current or future fit for a shopping destination. The report offers findings from 25 retailers, half of which target teens and young adults.

“Retailers targeting teens and young adults, especially those located in inline mall spaces, have been suffering declines for years,” Crossman & Company president John Crossman, tells GlobeSt.com. “Now could be the time for landlords to review their tenant rosters, negotiate deals well, and to shore up their portfolios to position their properties defensively for leaner times.”

According to the report, the retail industry has accepted that e-commerce is here to stay. In the second quarter of 2016, e-commerce accounted for 8.1% of total retail sales, about $97.2 billion. The challenge is now quantifying the effect of m-commerce: mobile e-commerce, facilitated by tablets and smart phones.

Teen retailers lost track of their core customer's wants and needs, the report suggests. Beyond increased price competition, teens' spending habits have also changed over time. In an annual survey, 14- to 24-year-olds in 2008 with $1,000 chose to spend twice as much on clothing as electronics. In 2015, they spent $300 on electronics and only $275 on clothing, revealing a marked shift in priority.

In retail real estate, the health ratio describes the ratio of overall occupancy costs to net sales. CoStar purports that a normal mall tenant's health ratio averages between 11 – 12%. For the five who explicitly reported all occupancy costs, the health ratios are illuminating, averaging just under 17%.

Next, Crossman explored how retailers may be over-leveraged with debt that impacts their ability to evolve to meet the demands of an ever-changing marketplace. The firm unearthed a surprising trend in the relationship that retail has with the private equity sector. Of the 13 teen retailers studied, half have had interactions with private equity, most often in the form of a leveraged buyout. In many of these cases, a private equity firm raises funds to buy all the outstanding stock of a publicly traded retailer.

Which retailers will win in 2017? Check out my column for some insights.