ATLANTA—As retail industry gurus head into RECon this month, a new report is shedding light on how retailers are increasingly forced to be creative in this changing environment. Retailers are seeking new partnerships, franchisees, and co-tenants, as well as exploring how to best leverage brands and e-commerce platforms.

Crossman & Company released its first quarter Southeast US Market Report Update. The title: Ranking Retail Tenant Activity: Stop, Wait, Grow…Merge?

“Our research examined a variety of retailers and measured their relative health and stability by their announcements of store openings or closings,” Crossman & Company president John Crossman tells GlobeSt.com. “We have used stoplight metaphor in the past to 'rate' retailers, and now have added other traffic signs to better capture other measures of retailers' health.”