On October 15 Ancillary Retail hosted a webinar titled “.” Webinar panelists shared how important it is to quickly shift strategy, not just in relation to COVID-19, but everywhere that customers and retailers are already adapting to omnichannel shopping.
Events and marketing efforts are being streamlined to go virtual while also supporting those customers who are still comfortable visiting brick-and-mortar stores. Cynthia Czech shared details about Pacific Retail Capital Partners’ successful rollout of CosmeCon 2020 that included boxes for attendees to use during online classes and events with makeup artists and influencers. At another center, a parking-lot fundraiser for a local food bank came flush with opportunities for sponsorships.
Outdoor spaces and creative approaches are key, as seen in the number of landlords hosting events, concerts and drive-in movies in parking lots. These events come with income-earning opportunities while driving sales for onsite tenants and, perhaps most importantly, making emotional connections with customers in communities, ensuring return business.
Landlords and developers are being asked to do more for their tenants as well, including offering storage space to tenants who need more room for customers to spread out. They are also working hard on making the terms simple and easy to attract digital-first brands. Once set up in the center or mall, these DTC names are seeing for themselves the power of a physical store.
While ancillary retail has always added depth and style to any retail mix, it’s now more important than ever. Pop-ups, events, marketing, media all combine to create a sense of place and community, as well as healthily stoking the FOMO (fear of missing out) factor that one just can’t buy online.
Panelists:
- Deborah Kravitz, Pro Retail, Inc. & Provenzano Resources, Inc. (moderator)
- Cynthia Czech, Pacific Retail Capital Partners
- Jenny Westbrook, Kimco
- Lori McGhee-Curtis, Taubman
- Jennifer Steffen, JLL
Sponsors:
Taubman: Taubman creates extraordinary retail environments for shoppers, retailers, communities, and investors. Their portfolio in the United States is the most productive in the nation.
Pro Retail Inc.: PRI consults with developers, landlords and design and operations teams to create quality, unique and successful specialty retail programs.
Pacific Retail Capital Partners: PRCP is the nation’s premier operating group of retail-led properties. With more than $2 billion in retail assets currently under management and a keen focus on enhancing the value and quality of a growing portfolio, PRCP is dedicated to creating a unique strategic vision for each property and exceeding the highest expectations of their investors, retailers, and customers.
Eminent Property Group: EPM’s core competencies are conventional property management and ancillary income management. Their property management services are offered locally throughout the tri-state area with headquarters in Long Island, NY. Their ancillary income management division operates nationwide. EPM connects property owners with innovative solutions to build property value and maximize income potential.
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