Ft. Lauderdale Retailers Seek to Reinvent Themselves Amid Pandemic

The seismic disruption of retail markets by the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted Ft. Lauderdale companies dependent on retail sales to reassess their sales methods and product offerings, according to a new report by Colliers International. 

Prior to the pandemic’s onset, “experiential retail” intended to enhance in-person shopping was reviving Ft. Lauderdale’s a “tired”  retail market, Colliers reported in its 2nd Quarter Broward County Retail Report.

But even as government health and safety guidelines forced businesses to dramatically curtail operations or temporarily shut their doors in response to the escalating spread of the virus across Florida, Ft. Lauderdale retailers have begun innovating brands or reinventing themselves to include inaugurating or enhancing delivery and curbside pickup services, setting up “ghost kitchens” divorced from dine-in spaces, the Colliers report said.

“Consumers still seek the convenience and instant gratification that comes with the in-store experience,” Ryan Kratz, President of Colliers International’s southeast region, predicted.

As a result, he said,  “Expect to see in-store, self-service solutions,”  including enhanced “omnichannel retail” — online or catalogue purchases followed by curbside pick-up —  and better, in-store inventory visibility with the help of online tools that allow shoppers to confirm product availability before heading to a store.  

Pre-COVID,  the most successful retailers and restaurants already “were innovating to deliver a unique in-store experience” that Kratz said shoppers “were (and are) willing to pay for.”

Colliers’ July Broward report acknowledged that the future of Ft. Lauderdale’s retail market remains highly uncertain as net absorption skewed negative and retail vacancies escalated in response to government mandates that temporarily shuttered all but essential retail business operations where social distancing was difficult, the report said.

But many retail tenants were able to take advantage of government funding programs such as the Paycheck Protection Program or were able to secure rent abatements from landlords that have, so far, allowed them to  stay afloat, the report said.

Local initiatives that include an “edgy” campaign by “Supporters of Broward” or “SOBs”  launched by Six Pillars Broward are encouraging residents to eat, drink and shop  at local businesses while abiding by health and safety protocols, the Colliers report said.  

But if tighter restrictions imposed on on restaurants in Miami-Dade County at the start of the third quarter this month intended to quell rising COVID-19 cases are extended to Broward County, the impact of the retail market’s current recovery could become “more severe,” Colliers predicted. 

But retail centers with “essential” business tenants, such as grocery stores and pharmacies, are expected to be the most trafficked retail in months to come, the report concluded.