CHICAGO—As online shopping continues to grow in popularity, developers of mixed-use centers are increasingly recruiting retail tenants that can not only draw crowds, but ones that turn their properties into true neighborhood gathering spots. Brick-and-mortar stores can't match the convenience of online shopping, but internet users typically don't get much enjoyment out of the experience.
“We are trying to bring in the concept of experiential retail,” Jeff Berta, senior director of real estate development at Structured Development, tells GlobeSt.com. The Chicago-based developer recently completed the NEWCITY retail and residential complex in Lincoln Park.
Berta praises retailers such as Apple for helping make shopping into an experience that goes beyond just getting the products you want. Even Starbucks has played an important role. “You go in to get coffee, but the experience goes with it.”
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Brian J. Rogal
Brian J. Rogal is a Chicago-based freelance writer with years of experience as an investigative reporter and editor, most notably at The Chicago Reporter, where he concentrated on housing issues. He also has written extensively on alternative energy and the payments card industry for national trade publications.
