And, from the economic standpoint, Myers acknowledged that the bright spot is housing, with its increase in prices and new housing starts.

"It has a multiplier effect in terms of the economy," he remarked. "If an individual buys a house, he needs furniture, appliances and electronics." Added to this outlook, he went on to say, is that despite everything, consumer net work is at an all-time high.

As for the challenges? Myers, for one, pointed to slower economic growth. Furthermore, "new regulations and the continued budget deficit has raised the hurdle of new investments," he added. Furthermore, the GDP growth is still slow at 2.5 percent, leading Myers to describe this slower growth as the "new normal."

Given the fragile state of both the economy and consumer spending, Kercheval was adamant in saying that developers and owners, in planning future retail locations, needed to move away from the shopping centers of yesterday. First of all, he suggested, "we need to take advantage of infill opportunities. We need to be more flexible as we see urban opportunities in the United States."

Second, developers and owners need to put more emphasis on the mixed-use/multi-use centers. "We've done a pretty good job of thinking about that," Kercheval pointed out. "But we need to do better."

Finally, developers and owners need to convert centers and retail property from a place where people buy stuff to what Kercheval dubbed a "third space," in other words, more of a destination location.

Amid additional discussion about growing diversity among shoppers and how ecommerce and technology are changing the retail landscape, Kercheval reminded ICSC attendees that consumers are more sophisticated and have higher expectations of their shopping experiences than in the past. Furthermore, as consumers move from ecommerce to mcommerce, or "mobile" commerce, they have access to even more information, which plays into their decision-making choices.

As such, "bricks and mortar will play a role in the future, but different from the past," Kercheval observed. "We need to understand consumers, how they shop and how they get information."