Indeed, both experiential and community-driven retail environments require in-person activation to bring them to life, and the current situation is reinforcing these strategies for retail’s road to rebirth post-pandemic.  

Seemingly ahead of the trend when it comes to data, Designer Outlets and off-price retail locations have long relied on retail intelligence to work closely with their tenants with turnover-based leases and collective access to a comprehensive view of data.

At this crucial moment, landlords, asset managers and their tenants are having to work much more closely to get results. Performance-linked rents encourage a new type of community, one with connected partners working together to achieve the best performance fuelled by up-to-date information – A new connected retail.

Beyond the outlet sector, we are seeing more store lease agreements adapting this way which is a positive move. Owners with a true understanding of their occupiers can work smarter to deliver a clearer strategy that benefits both tenants, and their customers.   

Technology can aid the transformation of the owner and occupier relationship, helping to make it more collaborative.

Engaging and informative community tools that incorporate crucial communications (from pandemic assistance documents to changes in regulations) are naturally a key focus right now, but social shopping and tools to accurately measure initiatives and experiences will set real-world retail destinations apart post-COVID.

Even during the pandemic, there are opportunities to build a more effective and measurable way to acquire customers. Analytics have helped our clients immediately identify and nurture successful categories such as food-to-go, homeware and athleisure, as well as informing strategies to support those in need of assistance.  

The new retail is not about adding a draw for consumers through short-lived distractions. instead, it is a long road that starts now to inspire authentic community-driven mixed-use retail environments. 

Get in touch to discuss the architecture we can help you implement for a new, collaborative retail

As business leaders in retail real estate plan for a new normal, strategy must shift towards reimagining our industry because as digital communication constantly reminds us #WeAreAllInThisTogether. Lessons learnt from our experiences during this crisis should deliver ideas about how to come out of it. We are sharing ways to ramp up resilience along with inspiring insights from people with experience in their field.

“Bad times have a scientific value. These are occasions a good learner would not miss.”― Ralph Waldo Emerson

This financial and humanitarian crisis is unlike anything we have experienced so it will inevitably teach us new lessons. Creating successful retail and leisure destinations is both art and science and maybe the key differentiator after coronavirus will be how destinations utilise this experience.

Companies must get creative to prepare for the future now. This includes safe and enticing environments for reopening, robust operational practices and strong communication and collaboration with strategic partners. The global mood has shifted and consumers and businesses will be looking to act with a heightened sense of purpose. Immediate access to a unified, accurate view of how retail performs through recovery is essential to give teams the analytics they can and must act upon.

Engaging the tenant community will prove even more important and the need for refined data and strategic visibility will only increase as properties change. No business will get through the pandemic alone, so there is a need to share data, learnings and insights. Practices and technologies that are successfully applied during this time could have a profound effect on the industry’s future. A future none of us want to miss.

Get in touch to discuss the architecture we can help you implement for recovery