Before the pandemic, retail investors and developers were targeting daily-needs or ecommerce-resistant tenants. The category was broad, including everything from grocery stores to restaurants and pharmacies. After the pandemic, the same class of stores have become known as essential retail, and it has become a clear category.

"The pandemic highlighted the difference between essential and non-essential retail and, not surprisingly, the product type that emphasizes essential retail has fared much better," Dan Villalpando, a partner at Cox, Castle & Nicholson, tells GlobeSt.com. "Businesses believed to be essential to daily life, such as grocers, home improvement stores, pharmacies, banks and gas stations, have generally been allowed to remain open, which is obviously the most critical component to turning a profit."

Non-essential retailers were on the other end of the spectrum, suffering business loss and forced closures. "Non-essential retail, such as apparel, salons, gyms and movie theatres have been forced to close for much of the year, and projects where those types of tenants serve as anchors have suffered the most," says Villalpando.