Do you remember when online shopping first began to disrupt brick and mortar stores? Shops struggled before the pandemic and now they face additional hurdles. Fortunately, small business owners are creative and resilient. We interviewed several small business owners and marketers to learn how they’re staying in business and keeping customers engaged during the pandemic. Re-creating the in-store experience Consultations, semi-private + private shopping Exclusive, in-store shopping experiences were once reserved for the rich and famous. Big-name customers could arrange to shop outside of operating hours or arrange have the shop vacant during their visit. While this is still the case, there are new players on the field. Tiny shops lifted a page from the celebrity handbook. These small stores limit the number of people permitted in the building to create a more private shopping experience. The added benefit is that customers gain more one-on-one attention and support from clerks. “This is a terrific way to permit in-person shopping while building customer loyalty and encouraging good online reviews,” says Edith Peele, owner of Simple Threads clothing boutique near Covington, GA. “We’re limiting the number of shoppers for safety, but it feels more like an exclusive, fancy shopping experience.” Interactive shopping A second opinion can be an incredibly valuable thing. You’ve likely been there: you have two (or more) products that you like. You need to narrow down your options but can’t seem to make a decision on your own. You reach for a second opinion. That second opinion can now be a store clerk on FaceTime or in a chat window. It’s a relatively simple way to encourage safe interaction and a value-add service not found in larger online-only retailers. Make gift preparation a breeze By preparing online purchases as gifts, retailers take three...

Imagine an oasis of calm just outside of the bustling city, a place where the community is structured around wellness and a connection with nature. Now imagine that this place has as many fun shopping and entertainment options as a conventional neighborhood– without conventional waste issues. This place exists and it’s called Serenbe. Welcome to Serenbe The New York Times calls the development “a utopian experiment in new urbanism being molded out of Georgia red clay ” about 30 miles southwest of Atlanta. More than 700 residents call Serenbe home. The community is often called together for music festivals, goat yoga, movie nights, wine tastings, and local theater performances. As provincial as it sounds, Serenbe is not a haven for barefoot wanderers and struggling artists. Homes start at $1,400 per month for a 600 square-foot apartment and max out shy of $2,000,000 for a single family home. Those are high price tags for Chattahoochee Hill Country, an otherwise unassuming rural community. With that said, Serenbe is probably the coolest countryside hamlet in the southeast for its emphasis on wellness and sustainability. Conscious Convenience For several years, development focused mostly on residences, often countryside getaways for Atlanta’s elite. Commercial construction has established a presence in the community—still abiding by community virtues—but offering more experiences and conveniences for residents. Four complexes form the hub of shopping at Serenbe. Each has a unique focus such as art, education, agriculture and health. The Mado District is the latest addition with an emphasis on health. One Mado will be a $250 million, 30,000 square-foot mixed-used development that is an alternative to the quintessential strip mall. Tenants will likely include health and wellness specialists such as a chiropractor, massage therapist, acupuncturist, and other holistic practitioners. There are also parcels for...

LONDON – The evolution of the retail store in the face of growing online sales has been much written about, but shopping centres also can’t afford to be left behind in the age of ecommerce and changing technologies. This Retail Week report – produced in association with Yardi – explores how retailers view shopping centres and ways that centres can create an environment in which retail doors not only remain open, but thrive in a digital era. Based on interviews with 50 retail directors responsible for store portfolios – each representing a company with a turnover of between £50m and £10bn – the report finds strong similarities in what retailers want from shopping centres, and reflects changing shopper habits. Key themes are explored around how shopping centres can better support retailers, including expectations about infrastructure for technology and data, as well as how they can attract new entrants. The right mix between retail, leisure and dining is a fundamental attraction, while providing wi-fi is a prerequisite for retailers setting up shop in malls, which has both customer-facing and operational benefits. The future opportunities for shopping centres to enhance their performance, while diverse, are all underpinned by robust data. Decisions are increasingly data-led, and while current platforms – typically management software and spreadsheets – for data sharing have been well-received by retailers, there’s a strong feeling centre owners could provide more information. In particular, they want detail about footfall, dwell time and average spend, to better understand the local catchment and to adapt store space accordingly. Common themes for shopping centre investment over the next 12 months, according to our surveyed retailers, include keeping up with new technology, integrating ecommerce and opening new stores – all of which are elements that new entrants such as...

When it opens to the public in summer 2016, the Mall of Qatar in Al-Rayyan will be a modern paradise smack dab in the in the middle of the Qatar desert. With over 2,755,561 square feet of Gross Leasable Area, upon completion the Mall of Qatar will cater to shoppers’ every whim. Massive in scale, the planned three-story structure will span the length of 50 soccer fields. Upon completion, visitors to the Mall of Qatar will be able to sample food from over 100 restaurants, buy products from over 500 stores and participate in a variety of unique entertainment experiences, including the largest IMAX Laser 3D projection system in the world. Envisioned as a “sophisticated, urban-lifestyle market, the mall will be outfitted with vaulted glass ceilings, sidewalk cafes, and unique water features. A main feature of the project is the multi-level Family Entertainment Complex, which will include a 10-lane bowling alley and a 19-screen Cineplex. For fans of live performance, the mall’s Festival Stage will host professional acts from around the world on a 360-degree, multi-lift, rotating stage outfitted with the latest sound and lighting technology. As the mall’s floor space spreads out across the desert, so do its recreational opportunities. A not-even-close-to-exhaustive list of additional amusements includes an Angry Birds theme park, a mini-roller coaster and a flight simulator. An indoor “edutainment” park called “Juniverse” will allow children to play at space exploration and firefighting. Older patrons can participate in “Escape the Room” challenges, where teams work together to unlock puzzles in a set amount of time. Up to 7000 automobiles can be accommodated in the mall’s parking lot, most under canopies designed to deflect and control the midday sun and bathe vehicles in merciful shade. For commuters without cars, sleek, modern metro...

The mobile payments war is far from over. In fact, it just got much more interesting since Walmart entered the scene—yes, mega retailer Walmart announced recently that it plans to offer mobile payments to its shoppers. Walmart Pay has launched as a feature in the retailer’s existing smartphone app. That will be compatible with all credit cards, debit cards, and Walmart gift cards. Considering that the company accounts for about 10 percent of the retail sales in the country, the service can potentially pose a challenge to Apple Pay and Android Pay. “Walmart Pay is the latest example – and a powerful addition – of how we are transforming the shopping experience by seamlessly connecting online, mobile and stores for the 140 million customers who shop with us weekly,” said Neil Ashe, president & CEO of Walmart Global eCommerce. Open, Scan, Done Walmart’s payment method won’t be using the near field communication (NFC) technology (adopted by Apple, Android, and other “tap to pay” systems). Instead, it enables payments by scanning QR codes at point of sale terminals in the store. Additionally, the user will have to set a 4-digit passcode (or use Touch ID, if you have an iPhone) to authenticate purchase. Once set up, the user can pay for purchases in the checkout line by selecting Walmart Pay from the app’s “Shop” menu. Here’s a catch: since its system relied in a smartphone’s camera, rather than an NFC chip, it’s compatible with a larger number of devices—Apple added NFC capabilities starting with iPhone 6 and let’s not forget that many lower-end Android handsets don’t support the feature, either. Walmart’s move doesn’t come as a surprise. The company claims it already has 22 million people using its app every month, so building payments into...

The fifth in Yardi’s series of thought leadership Think Tanks, held in association with Property Week, brought together retail centre owners and managers to discuss their experience and opinions on how to remain successful in a competitive retail environment. London’s retail scene is arguably the best in the world, with billions of pounds spent annually in the capital’s designer stores, boutiques and big-brand outlets. But as fashions in real estate strategy change, today’s retail landlords and property managers must move with the times to keep on attracting consumers. In a series of real estate think tanks, Yardi brought together a panel of retail experts to discuss the burning issues. Jace Tyrrell, deputy chief executive, New West End Company Jordan Jeffery, head of retail management, JLL Robin Dobson, director of retail development, Hammerson Clare Harris, head of group marketing & communications, Shaftesbury Chair: Claer Barrett, Financial Times CB: Let’s start by talking about online retail – have retailers and landlords passed ‘peak disruption’? RD: If you look back 10 years, the property industry was scared; now, I think we’ve come through the eclipse. The opportunity to create the best physical stores is complimentary to the drive to online. ICSC research showed that 90% of transactions still happen in a physical location – customers may have seen the product in a store, then ordered it at home or on a screen, or they might have ordered it at home and gone into the store to collect it. John Lewis recently reported that 50% of its in-store sales are coming from ‘click and collect’. As landlords, we create the platform for others to create the theatre. JJ: Everyone has had to adapt to online changes. Today’s consumers are much more informed and do a lot more research...

As more of the 80 million-member Millennial generation enters the workforce, these so-called Gen Y-ers, age 18 to 35, are on everybody’s minds these days as one of the largest—and most fickle—groups to influence housing, shopping and the workplace. Financially strong and responsible, they nonetheless like to shop, prefer convenient housing over expansive, and while they are not yet the company decision makers, they certainly represent a growing proportion of the workforce—with a work style that is sometimes at polar opposites to their parents, the giant Baby Boomer generation. The Urban Land Institute followed up last year’s study of Gen Y housing preferences with a new analysis of their retail habits, released during the Spring Meeting, which took place in San Diego in mid-May. The study identified a strong group, with even a good percentage of those in their 20s financially independent and earning a comfortable living. Sixty-five percent of the 1,251 respondents to the survey said they do not receive financial help from their parents, with 41 percent working full time and fully 46 percent achieving household income of $50,000 or more per year. Thirty-two percent own their own home (predominantly those in their 30s). They carry an average of $22,000 in student debt, but four of five said they don’t use credit cards and 27 percent pay their credit card bills in full every month. Interestingly, while a large proportion live in or near cities, their orientation and long-term plan may be otherwise. Just 14 percent live in or near downtowns, but another 34 percent live in city neighborhoods outside the downtowns (think Brooklyn in New York City or Buckhead in Atlanta), while 13 percent live in dense older suburbs and 11 percent in newer, outlying suburbs; 19 percent in small cities...