LAS VEGAS—“While omni-channel retail has been a trend for many years, we've finally reached the point where retailers have realized that omni-channel is not the enemy and are implementing practical, effective strategies for merging bricks and clicks.” So said Tom Buxton, president and CEO of Buxton. In some cases, Buxton said, merging the channels means realigning the store network to better capture traditional sales and fulfill online orders.
“These 'rightsizing' efforts position the retailer to maximize sales in existing markets,” he continues. “Ultimately, the retailers who truly know who their customers are will be more successful at merging channels and maximizing sales through better real estate, marketing, and operations decisions.”
Today's retail real estate professionals aren't just looking for new sites, Buxton tells GlobeSt.com. “They are also closely examining the performance of existing locations to identify candidates for relocation or closure. In today's highly competitive retail market, each real estate decision is an important investment and an increasing number of retailers are taking a thoughtful, analytical approach to site evaluation.”
CallisonRTKL Senior Vice President Jeff Gunning, based in the Dallas office, also spoke with GlobeSt.com about how nearly all of its retail clients are shifting their focus from omni-channel to omni-presence. “It's about always being there, versus changing channels,” he recently told GlobeSt.com.
When chatting with Naveen Jaggi, president of retail brokerage at JLL, he said that retailer activity is dominated by value, food and beverage, service, and entertainment uses. “The quest for the elusive truly omni-channel grail continues to impact capital expenditures for many retailers as they try to solve the 'last mile' equation and real-time inventory optimization.”
The good news for retailers, Jaggi continued, is that “consumer spending was up in 2016 compared to the prior year, unemployment remains low, and consumer confidence is at its highest levels since the Great Recession.”
This, he said, “is counterbalanced by the reality that as an industry we are likely still over-stored compared to the new consumer paradigm. I still foresee a continued rationalization of retail space across the US, lasting into 2018-2019. The most impacted by this will likely be secondary and tertiary markets as things continue to shake out.”
Jaggi tells GlobeSt.com that “The retail business is in the 'last act of a three-act play' and I see this current rash of closures as the last step in the retail industry coming to grips with the ramifications of the Great Recession.”
For other thoughts from experts who attended the ICSC RECon event here in Las Vegas and to learn more about panel coverage from the event, check out the articles below.
LAS VEGAS—“While omni-channel retail has been a trend for many years, we've finally reached the point where retailers have realized that omni-channel is not the enemy and are implementing practical, effective strategies for merging bricks and clicks.” So said Tom Buxton, president and CEO of Buxton. In some cases, Buxton said, merging the channels means realigning the store network to better capture traditional sales and fulfill online orders.
“These 'rightsizing' efforts position the retailer to maximize sales in existing markets,” he continues. “Ultimately, the retailers who truly know who their customers are will be more successful at merging channels and maximizing sales through better real estate, marketing, and operations decisions.”
Today's retail real estate professionals aren't just looking for new sites, Buxton tells GlobeSt.com. “They are also closely examining the performance of existing locations to identify candidates for relocation or closure. In today's highly competitive retail market, each real estate decision is an important investment and an increasing number of retailers are taking a thoughtful, analytical approach to site evaluation.”
CallisonRTKL Senior Vice President Jeff Gunning, based in the Dallas office, also spoke with GlobeSt.com about how nearly all of its retail clients are shifting their focus from omni-channel to omni-presence. “It's about always being there, versus changing channels,” he recently told GlobeSt.com.
When chatting with Naveen Jaggi, president of retail brokerage at JLL, he said that retailer activity is dominated by value, food and beverage, service, and entertainment uses. “The quest for the elusive truly omni-channel grail continues to impact capital expenditures for many retailers as they try to solve the 'last mile' equation and real-time inventory optimization.”
The good news for retailers, Jaggi continued, is that “consumer spending was up in 2016 compared to the prior year, unemployment remains low, and consumer confidence is at its highest levels since the Great Recession.”
This, he said, “is counterbalanced by the reality that as an industry we are likely still over-stored compared to the new consumer paradigm. I still foresee a continued rationalization of retail space across the US, lasting into 2018-2019. The most impacted by this will likely be secondary and tertiary markets as things continue to shake out.”
Jaggi tells GlobeSt.com that “The retail business is in the 'last act of a three-act play' and I see this current rash of closures as the last step in the retail industry coming to grips with the ramifications of the Great Recession.”
For other thoughts from experts who attended the ICSC RECon event here in Las Vegas and to learn more about panel coverage from the event, check out the articles below.
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Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
