GIS has moved from a back-office tool to a core competitive advantage in retail real estate. AI, real-time data, and advanced platforms now guide how retailers and investors pick locations. As Bryan G Chandler of TSCG notes, staying fluent in GIS is no longer optional for navigating 2026’s tight supply and shifting consumer behavior.

Key trends: AI-driven market analytics, web GIS maturing into full application ecosystems, open source tools going mainstream, and a shift from static datasets to real-time market intelligence—all still dependent on solid data and human judgment.

Guest contributor Hue Chen, President of Saglo Companies discusses how the retail landscape is experiencing a renaissance, but the true economic benefit of a signed lease doesn’t begin until the tenant’s doors open.
Today’s reality is sobering: delays in opening new businesses can now take 9-12 months, creating economic vacuums that impact payroll, tax revenue, and the economic multiplier effect from the neighborhood to the national level. He explores using AI powered processes to streamline and accelerate processes.