Envision 2020 is a broad-based study conducted by the International Council of Shopping Centers which seeks to identify the enormous changes confronting the retail real estate industry over the next five years. How can developers prepare for the industry transformation ahead?
Following are six of the key transformative trends outlined in the Envision 2020 study, all of which will impact your business over the next five years:
1) Unification of Bricks-and-Mortar and On-Line Retailing — Shopping centers will become true E-commerce participants launching their own E-commerce platforms and aggregating and merchandising the offerings of their retailers. Conversely, E-commerce websites will become mall-based retailers, providing a personalized context and enhanced customer experience to complement their on-line product assortments.
2) Unprecedented Intimacy with the Consumer — Developers will leverage technology to embrace each consumer individually, both inside and outside of their shopping centers. Shopping centers will provide a fully digitized and mobile-optimized shopping experience, attuned to the interests and needs of individual consumers
3) Conversion of Shopping Centers into Communities — Evolution of a more seamless, open environment through the transformation of traditional retail formats into fully integrated communities. Retail and entertainment options will become fully blended and inter-dependent, creating a rich and vibrant consumer experience.
4) Engaging Millennials in the Mall Environment — Shopping centers will feature a more customized, personalized range of offerings appealing to the younger consumer. There will be an increasing localization of the tenant mix with a larger, more eclectic range of independent retailers.
5) Incorporating Distribution and Fulfillment — Shopping centers will incorporate physical distribution points designed to fulfill both brick-and-mortar and e-commerce orders. There will be an influx of centralized “click and collect” customer delivery and pick-up centers, as well as center-based same-day delivery services
6) Accelerated Developer-Retailer Collaboration — The relationship between developers and retailers will transform from an adversarial “landlord-tenant” schematic to a truly collaborative partnership. Developers and retailers will increasingly share resources and technologies to maximize consumer engagement and shopping center productivity.
