Although clicking for groceries and goodies continues to be a shopping pattern for many consumers, retailers still view brick-and-mortar stores as essential.
鈥淩ecognizing that online shopping is here to stay and growing every year, retailers find value in having stores being the showrooms for online goods and they often play a role in delivering merchandise with customer pick-up and returns,鈥 Nancy McClure, first vice president of the 蜜柚直播 CBRE office, says in her annual 鈥淏ig Box鈥 report.
High interest rates and construction costs dampened new retail construction in the 蜜柚直播 area, but three large retailers have broken ground and are expected to open this year.
Fry鈥檚 Marketplace is building at Tangerine Road and Lon Adams; Home Depot will go up in the Houghton Town Center at Houghton and Old Vail roads and Bass Pro Shops is opening a large store in The Marketplace at the Bridges, near Park Avenue and Interstate 10.
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With the exodus of some big retailers last year, many formerly known 鈥渟hopping centers鈥 are being transformed into destination centers, McClure says.
The closure of Bed Bath & Beyond and the downsizing of Walgreens and CVS stores made the biggest impact.
The locations turned out to be 鈥渏ust right鈥 for other retailers.
For example, McClure notes, Sportsman鈥檚 Warehoused leased a former Bed Bath & Beyond at Irvington Road and Interstate 19 and Roadhouse Cinemas leased the Bed Bath & Beyond at Grant and Swan roads for its Rail Yard entertainment venue.
鈥淓ntertainment uses, such as indoor pickleball courts, trampoline parks, padel courts, race cart tracks, etc. are constantly scouring the market to lease space but many of the vacant big box spaces lack ceiling clear-height and clear-span with no or few support columns,鈥 she says.
McClure predicts some retail shops will be demolished to make way for new concepts.
Rob Tomlinson, a retail specialist with Picor, says landlords need to be mindful of tenants whose products are more 鈥渋nternet resistant.鈥
鈥淚t is essential for retail real estate professionals, investors and developers to understand which product types and retailers are less susceptible to online encroachment and are more likely to withstand the trajectory of online consumer goods sales,鈥 he says in his Trend report. 鈥淭his understanding will help asset managers and leasing professionals target tenants with long-term stability, allow investors to underwrite retail properties more effectively, and assist in retail investment decisions.鈥
Consumers report that the biggest drawbacks of online shopping include not being able to touch, feel and try a product and lack of the physical shopping experience.
鈥淪pecialty stores, such as home improvement centers, garden stores and luxury goods outlets, have proven resilient (and) home improvement and garden stores offer a tactile shopping experience that online platforms cannot replicate,鈥 Tomlinson says. 鈥淪imilarly, luxury goods outlets provide an exclusive shopping experience characterized by personalized service and immediate gratification, making them less susceptible to online competition.鈥
He notes that while online grocery shopping surged during the pandemic, most consumers have returned to in-person shopping to hand-pick fresh produce, baked goods and meat or poultry items.
鈥淲hile many routine purchases of common products do well online, the online retailing space cannot replicate the value of personal experience needed with a more specialized or personalized product,鈥 Tomlinson says. 鈥淲hen considering a retail tenant, ask yourself, 鈥楬ow easily can this tenant鈥檚 product offering be replicated online?鈥
鈥淚f an online purchase of that product seems to be a stretch, then that is the tenant you want in your retail center.鈥
See what's in store for the new Bass Pro Shops store coming to The Bridges on 蜜柚直播's south side.
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