Retail Insider’s Post

The retail landscape is undergoing significant changes, and Macy's recent store closures are a prime example. This movement is transforming traditional malls into dynamic multi-use complexes, creating a blend of residential, commercial, and leisure spaces. The shift means malls are no longer just about shopping. With the inclusion of residential apartments and office spaces, these areas are becoming community hubs and attractive lifestyle destinations where people live, work, and play. Additionally, the rise of e-commerce is altering how mall spaces are utilized. Many of these vacant stores are being repurposed into last-mile distribution hubs and pop-up shops, effectively blending online and offline retail experiences. The closures also offer a chance to create enhanced retail environments with augmented reality stores and showrooms, ensuring physical stores remain relevant by offering unique shopping experiences. The most crucial impact of Macy’s closures is economic revitalization. Transforming vacant retail spaces into vibrant hubs for living and working has the potential to create jobs, boost property values, and foster community engagement. This evolution marks an exciting new chapter for malls across America. Next steps by reaching out to Together CFO or setting up a call https://lnkd.in/gEhBUk3S.

For the first time in 20 years, the demand for retail space has outstripped supply, placing landlords in an unfamiliar but advantageous position. According to a recent piece in The New York Times, retail continues to demonstrate remarkable strength, with vacancy rates hitting a two-decade low of 5.4 percent, according to a recent national report by Cushman & Wakefield. Despite significant closures by major retailers like Macy's and EXPRESS, shopping centers are thriving. This surge in demand follows years of limited construction and the strategic elimination of underperforming properties. The surviving retail spaces have capitalized on this by attracting tenants that enhance shopper engagement and encourage longer visits. This trend has led to an increase in restaurants and recreational venues, such as ax throwing and pickleball, while reducing space for less profitable traditional retailers, like bookstores and certain apparel brands. A curated approach toward diversity and vibrancy in tenant mixes is reducing redundancy, boosting overall property productivity, and significantly altering lease negotiations. Read more below:

Interesting report by Cushman & Wakefield: In 2024, store opening announcements are exceeding planned closures—with 3,438 openings planned compared to 2,587 closures. This is resulting in a net gain of 851 stores to date. If this trend continues throughout the year, it will mark the third consecutive year of growth—a milestone not seen in ten years.

According to Joe Gose in The New York Times, retail space demand is outpacing supply for the first time in two decades. This surge follows years of strategic pruning and the evolution of retail environments into vibrant hubs offering more than just shopping. The addition of experiential venues like ax throwing and pickleball courts, alongside enticing dining options, has redefined the shopping center landscape. The result, fewer redundancies and a stronger tenant mix, driving some of the highest occupancy rates in a decade. Predictions for the Future: Experience-Driven Retail: Expect continued growth in experiential offerings, transforming shopping centers into lifestyle destinations. Enhanced Tenant Mix: Landlords will prioritize diverse and synergistic tenant mixes to sustain high foot traffic and longer customer dwell times. Tech Integration: Advanced technologies will play a crucial role in enhancing customer experiences and operational efficiencies. Why Marketing & Collaborations Matter More Than Ever: Community Engagement: Effective marketing strategies and collaborations with popular brands can create buzz and drive consistent foot traffic. Brand Synergy: Partnerships between complementary brands can amplify reach and offer unique customer experiences. Adaptive Strategies: Agile marketing plans can help shopping centers stay relevant and responsive to evolving consumer preferences. In this retail environment, strategic marketing and innovative collaborations will be key to sustaining growth and ensuring that shopping centers remain vibrant community spaces. #RetailRevival #MarketingStrategy #RetailTrends #ShoppingCenters #CustomerExperience #BrandCollaborations

ICSC's recent roundup on the trend of M&A activities involved with repositioning and repurposing Shopping Centers highlights some of the opportunities for both Developers and Retail brands to create #RetailDestinations that are relevant and meaningful to shoppers as the retail landscape continues to evolve. Here's my take on 5 Key Trends and Solutions for Repurposing These Spaces: 1 - Grocery Retailers as anchors for vacant retailers (i.e. JC Penney, Sears, and others that anchored many shopping malls). 2 - Food Halls and Food Markets that provide a diverse range of F&B offerings, while also creating a destination for people to gather and socialize during all times of day and night. 3 - Entertainment destinations given that people and communities look for destinations to socialize and connect with one another. 4 - Retail Service brands, whether that be fitness centers, wellness centers and/or healthcare or medical services, these all are great solutions that help drive traffic, while bringing value and meaning to consumers. 5 - Hospitality and Multifamily both contribute greatly to new Mixed-Use destinations to provide places to "stay" close to where people shop, eat, meet and play. #RetailInnovation #ShoppingCenterReimagined #ShoppingMalls #Retail #MixedUse

Get in, we're going shopping. 🛍️ Driven by dramatic shifts in the retail sector, many retail locations face vacancies left by the closure of mainstream retailers, including department stores, which historically served as major anchor tenants. Emerging, tech-driven concepts are successfully replacing traditional static retail stores and reinvigorating shopping centres. Think upscale pickleball and trampoline parks to functional fitness and wellness. https://lnkd.in/eJU-iMxR #AY2024DriversOfChange #AYdifference

To revitalize underperforming malls, a multi-faceted approach is necessary. This can include renovating the physical space to create a modern and inviting atmosphere, incorporating experiential retail elements that encourage customers to engage with products and brands, and offering unique services such as restaurants, entertainment options, and community events. By doing so, malls can reposition themselves as vibrant community hubs that offer a memorable experience for customers. Strategic Leasing: Strategic leasing involves carefully matching brands with locations and zoning to create an optimal retail mix that appeals to the target audience. This involves analyzing demographic data, consumer behavior, and market trends to determine which retailers will thrive in a specific location. By selecting a curated mix of tenants, property owners can create a cohesive and attractive retail experience that drives foot traffic, boosts sales, and enhances the overall value of the property. Buzzworthy Marketing: To revamp marketing strategies, Buzzworthy Marketing focuses on creating a fresh and modern approach to reinvigorate customer and retailer confidence. This involves leveraging innovative digital channels, social media, and influencer partnerships to showcase the brand's unique value proposition, highlighting its commitment to quality, sustainability, and customer satisfaction. Diverse Brand Mix: By curating a diverse and appealing mix of brands and entertainment hubs, you can create a unique and exciting experience that attracts a wide range of customers. This approach can help to differentiate your location from others and increase customer loyalty, as people will be drawn to the variety of options and experiences available. Expanding common spaces for entertainment: Since shopping malls are turning into entertainment destinations for people of all ages, owners of underperforming malls should expand the common spaces for dining and entertaining activities. #shoppingcentreretailforum Shopping Centre Retail Forum #retailers #Restaurent #multiplex #mall #shoppingcentre #hotel #cafe #multiplex #realestate

More proof that as DTC struggles retail is back! “We are seeing some of the most productive occupancy recorded in the last 10 years.” Shopping center vacancy is the lowest it has been in two decades, at 5.4 percent, Cushman & Wakefield said in a recent report, and the edge in lease negotiations has shifted from tenants back to landlords. #retail #dtc #retailers #shopping #realestate

Last week we released our latest figures for store openings and closures across Great Britain, based on research conducted by the Local Data Company. This bi-annual report analyses over 200,000 outlets in more than 3,500 locations to capture the evolving landscape of high streets, shopping centres, retail parks, and other out-of-town areas. You can read the findings here: https://pwc.to/43tcLZf. The latest research indicates that the country has seen an increase in both openings and closures in 2023 compared to the previous year. Positively, 9,138 new stores opened across Great Britain in 2023 - the highest number since 2019. This underscores the continuing importance of physical sites, with successful operators capitalising on vacant spaces to expand their presence. The hospitality sector has experienced a significant rebound, leading to a surge in new openings to meet consumer demand post-pandemic. The increase in hospitality outlets, as highlighted by our research, brings to mind an industry that is experiencing strong growth: Technology, Media, and Telecoms (TMT). These sectors face a crucial need to rejuvenate legacy business models to adapt to a new world of pricing, services and customer relationships while remaining competitive in the face of new, more agile players. Despite grappling with numerous challenges, TMT is enjoying substantial growth, undoubtedly led by forces including digital innovation, big data, and the cloud. Last week, our Technology, Media and Telco (TMT) UK and EMEA Leader, Mary Shelton Rose, hosted a TMT LinkedIn Live event, joined by guests including David Tulloch, Digital Strategy Director at Microsoft, and PwC TMT Partner Ben Bird. In their fascinating discussion , they touched on how businesses across the industry are poised for growth amidst market disruptions. This is particularly pertinent given our CEO survey found that 52% of TMT CEOs do not see their businesses as being viable in the next 10 years - a conversation likely at the forefront of most sector C-suites' minds. You can listen here: 🎧 https://bit.ly/495qerB For TMT, it appears that factors such as regulatory obligations, geopolitical hurdles and the perpetual quest for top talent present a delicate balancing act. Despite these challenges, as highlighted in last Wednesday's conversation, there was a real sense of optimism, which seems to have even permeated the retail and hospitality sectors - both of which were hit incredibly hard during and after the pandemic. Clearly, challenges remain for retail, hospitality and TMT as an industry but as we approach the Easter holidays and the onset of spring is evident, I sense a degree of optimism in the air. #PwCUK #IndustryInFocus #Business