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Retail’s “Market Revolution” Accelerates
The retail sector has undergone a “market revolution” over the past year, as Colliers International’s Anjee Solanki and Andrew Nelson put it in a new white paper titled “The R/evolution Starts Now, Retail Refusing to Fail.” It’s not only about store closings and the shift to online channels, but also about brands’ adoption of futuristic technologies such as virtual reality and augmented reality.
“As the number of brick-and-mortar locations decrease, the pace of change at which landlords and tenants evolve their business models is moving faster and is more far-reaching than ever before,” they write.
With the time spent shopping online continuing to increase, the shift in buying habits has made a dramatic impact on the traditional perception of the store environment. “The physical space is no longer the final destination, but one of many touchpoints available for retailers and brands to woo consumers to engage with products and services,” according to Solanki and Nelson.
Among the key points in the Colliers white paper:
• Although online shopping is here to stay, Americans are divided almost evenly on their preferred shopping channels, with 51% shopping online and 49% preferring to shop in-store.
• As technology becomes part of our everyday language, customization of the consumer journey will be an invaluable asset to maintaining brand loyalty and increasing revenue.
• As Virtual Reality technology, and its contemporary solutions, allow for greater viewability from “virtually” anywhere in the world, the immediate benefit for CRE brokers and landlords is the potential to increase their reach and vastly expand the traditional prospect list.
• Mixed Reality, comprised of augmented and virtual, is expected to grow into a $95-billion market by 2025.
• The integration of extended reality into a retail omnichannel strategy can unwittingly expand a retailer’s reach onto a whole new playing field, where consumers are willing to interact with brands.
• Brands are reinventing their approach to the 24-hour customer service cycle, making it more “lifelike” by providing relevant information and contextual data to shoppers.
For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Paul Bubny
