We are long past the point of discussing how technology has interrupted our lives and changed our perspective of the world. We are now in the post-disruption era, and in many sectors including retail, a new normal is emerging. At the same time, we are finally at a place where we can connect the dots to understand how retail is evolving—more efficient through technology and more engagement-focused through experience. The biggest idea driving the newest and most successful retail strategies is wrapped around how we value things—especially time.
Read MoreA lot of thought and hard work go into making a place look like it could not have appeared anywhere else.
As vehicle use and shopping habits change rapidly, densified parking areas can free up space for new uses that benefit the community.
A CBRE analysis of U.S. consumer spending and demographic patterns suggests significant changes for food-and-beverage operators and the real estate they occupy, including a greater push for convenient, prepared foods; a growing millennial influence; and the emergence of inner-ring suburbs as the industry’s hottest market.
When events mega-company LiveNation approached Philadelphia design firm EwingCole about transforming the former Ajax Metal Company into a 3,000-person music venue and entertainment complex, it was a daunting proposition, said speakers at a recent ULI Philadelphia event which toured the site. Modeled off the iconic 1960s venue in San Francisco, Live Nation now operates six Fillmore-branded venues across the United States, with a seventh on the way in New Orleans.
Retailers are focusing their physical presences on offering excellent customer service and curation of products, said panelists at a ULI Colorado event in Denver. The event itself was held at the Dairy Block, an example of new retail projects that are animating both commercial and public spaces with experimental and experiential places for people to shop, eat, drink, be entertained, and find community.
With the convenience and increasingly experiential process of shopping online, how can retail stores and malls compete? Thriving brands are combining their online and brick-and-mortar experiences to keep foot traffic high and regenerating communities.
At the ULI Japan Spring Conference 2018, panelists discussed how Japan’s malls can reinvigorate themselves with culture and content. Retail in Japan has not suffered as badly as elsewhere from the effects of online shopping, but the industry is concerned that malls need to offer more to retain customers.
According to a survey by RCLCO, sentiments about the real estate conditions in the U.S. remain at a relatively high level, but slightly below where they were six months ago. Just over one-half (51 percent) of RCLCO’s Mid-Year 2018 Sentiment Survey respondents say U.S. real estate market conditions are moderately or significantly better today than they were 12 months ago, five percentage points lower than in the year-end 2017 survey.
A national developer transforms a faded Texas strip center into a mixed-use place around a central urban street.