Features

By J. Wickham Zimmerman, Chief Executive Officer, Outside the Lines Inc. A new trend is emerging in retail destinations in response to evolving customer expectations: more public spaces. In these spaces, today’s best designers, developers and owners are incorporating immersive experiences and entertainment attractions with the purpose of drawing guests in, increasing their length of stay and inspiring repeat visits. This emerging trend points to an important question for owners and tenants alike: Are public spaces on track to become retail’s new anchor tenant? Four important drivers fueling the reduction of traditional anchor …

By Chris Karl, design specialist for Ambius With e-commerce continuing to eat away at brick-and-mortar retailers’ business, stores need to find new ways to create meaningful experiences shoppers can’t get online. Retailers that are slow to adapt to this trend are finding the current environment difficult to survive — no matter how established their brand or large their footprint. Many are discovering the value of experiential marketing with a growing number of retailers — including Abercrombie & Fitch and Pandora  — incorporating custom scents into their in-store experience. Research backs up …

Yoga studios, like other non-traditional use spaces, can have a positive impact for a center. A popular studio can bring not only revenue from the lease itself, but also increased foot traffic to a center at specific times during the week. However, before yoga customers (or yogis) start their “downward dog” poses, a number of important leases provisions should be reviewed and negotiated first.  

ICSC’s annual RECon Convention in Las Vegas is a great opportunity to get a pulse of the industry. Each May, the trends and themes expressed at RECon are a great way to get a snapshot of the retail and mixed-use industry’s health and collective mindset.

By: Randall Shearin, Editor-in-Chief of Shopping Center Business  

By: Julie Brinkerhoff-Jacobs, President and CFO of Lifescapes International

By: Ryan Hild and Jason Penighetti

By: Robert Caperton, President and Managing Partner, Barrett Properties