Benjamin Cien
A diverse curation of tenants and mixed-use concepts are winning in today's retail arena, where retailers and retail property owners are looking for ways to compete with ecommerce. Consumers' demand for efficiency and live-work-play atmospheres have driven the rise of mixed-use development, and in many ways has changed the design of retail centers and shops.
“The inclusion of varying retail shops and services is very important to today's modern consumers. Convenience and time efficiency plays a big role in this shift, with 55% of US adults reporting those items to be a leading reason for wanting to live in a mixed-use community,” Benjamin Cien, the associate partner, a studio director at Newman Garrison + Partners,” tells GlobeSt.com. “To be able to shop, eat, see a movie and so on all within the same vicinity is both time-efficient and enjoyable for the contemporary consumer in terms of the community environment that mixed-use developments create.”
Understanding new consumers' needs has become a big part of the design equation at Newman Garrison + Partners, and they are looking for ways to merge asset classes into a single development. “Catering to their needs, we implement mixed-use retail, creative office, restaurants, hotel, apartment living, upscale amenities and more into many of our recent and upcoming architectural designs,” says Cien. “We understand what the current consumer is seeking and we plan to continue to deliver design concepts that will bring those desires to life.”
Technology is playing a huge role in this transition—but it still isn't being utilized to its full potential. While retailers are building omni-channel experiences, online boutiques are starting to open brick-and-mortar stores. “While technology has certainly shifted shopping trends and the retail center experience, it hasn't yet taken over the retail center completely,” Cien says. “The ICSC Board of Trustees reports that a surprising 90% of all U.S. retail sales still occur within a physical store and 'webrooming' is far more common than 'showrooming,' and e-tailer's are constantly opening physical stores.”
For architects like Cien and developers, technology will only grow in importance for retailers and retail design. “It's imperative that architects, developers and designers adapt to the shift in upgraded technology and engage the modern consumer as best as possible,” says Cien. “This can be achieved in a variety of ways, including the incorporation of digital ordering kiosks and the development of smart phone applications for brick-and-mortar shops, among various other strategies. Taking this into consideration, it's very much important to today's consumers that human interaction is still a part of the retail experience. While the implementation of technology attracts many people to the modern retail experience, having staff and employees on-sight and available for assistance is something we don't foresee shifting very soon.”
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Kelsi Maree Borland
