Biggest Threat to Retail: Big-Box Retailers Selling Groceries, ICSC Members Told

ORLANDO-Reduced demand for space and lower consumer spending are taking back seats as reasons for the retail industry’s current softening posture, a new report by the Orlando office of Trammell Crow Co. indicates.

“The biggest threat to retail, even more significant than softening demand for space, is the entry of big-box retailers such as Wal-Mart, Target and Costco into the grocery business,” says Crow’s John M. Crossman, senior vice president, Florida retail services division, who authored the report.

“The reason is simple,” Crossman says. “The amount of money that people spend on groceries tends to decelerate much more slowly than money spent on luxury items.”