Finally, selection within dollar-type stores has changed dramatically. The addition of groceries has been a tremendous traffic driver, with many dollar and 99-cent type stores now offering the experience of an extremely affordable mini-grocery store.

GlobeSt.com: How has this increased presence of discount stores affected niche shopping center owners?

Rosano and Kangavari: Typically, dollar stores are good news for owners of shopping centers. These discount giants generate a great deal of traffic for a center, and they attract repeat customers. Like mini-supermarkets with excellent pricing, many dollar-type stores are helping to increase availability of affordable products, especially in urban markets.

That said; niche retail owners can face a challenge with regard to competition. In the current market, dollar-type stores offer a truly wide array of products and groceries, and they can eradicate competing business if the competitors' price or selection can't compete. While most dollar retailers prefer stand-alone buildings in highly populated areas, many of today's dollar-type stores are now moving into second-generation boxes. As this trend continues, nearby retailers will have to up their game or risk going out of business.

One example of this pressure in action is in the swap meet sector of the retail market. Based on a continued influx of discount retail offerings, swap meets throughout Los Angeles and other urban areas continue to suffer. Examples include the Compton Swap Meet, which was purchased by Walmart and is going out of business, as well as the Western-Pico Swap Meet, which was recently leased to Warehouse Shoe Sales (WSS) by our firm, and we converted what had been a headache property into a NNN single tenant income property at a much higher rental rate.

GlobeSt.com: What options do niche retail owners and retailers have to remain competitive with discount retailers in urban markets?

Rosano and Kangavari: To retailers, we recommend focusing on specialization. The more specialized the retailer, the greater their success in the current market. Naturally, this trend is evident in the grocery sector, where specialty retailers such as Whole Foods and Trader Joes have replaced more general chains such as Ralphs as the first choice of many consumers. This concept is the same in urban markets - today's shoppers want niche products. For example, we see a great deal of success among Hispanic grocery stores in Los Angeles, because shoppers want to buy the foods and flavors they really want from a specialty store.

In addition, selection and competitive pricing remain key, and retailers that can offer both of these attributes to customers in a specialized environment will prosper. From the retail owner perspective, focusing on tenants in a new way can make a center more competitive. Owners of smaller, niche retail centers are increasingly finding that being helpful to tenants is the only way to compete with big centers. One example is 4th Street Market in downtown Anaheim, in which the owner recently paid for all of his tenants' improvements. As a result, the experience offered by his center has improved, and thus, traffic has increased.

GlobeSt.com: As the trend of urbanization continues, what changes do you anticipate within niche retail centers in urban hubs such as Downtown Los Angeles?

Rosano and Kangavari: We expect to see even better food and entertainment concepts emerge in Downtown Los Angeles and throughout Southern California.The general public is extremely focused on food. Millennials and others in urban markets are seeking new food experiences, and social media is flooded with images of the latest food offerings in these markets.As a result, retail owners in urban hubs will continue to bring in innovative food concepts. This might mean new offerings, or simply introducing an existing food retailer to a new market or submarket.For example, Tacos El Gavilan, a specialty food retailer that was typically situated in only Hispanic markets, recently opened a store at Sunset and La Brea, on a corner that is populated with mainstream, national tenants, including Burger King, Starbucks, In n Out, Carls Jr., etc.

As urbanization continues, we expect to see more innovative food providers and other specialty retailers opening in locations that were traditionally less diverse. Everyone is looking for something different, and retail will continue to deliver.