DMM Retail Industry e-News Issue #169
Pinch Us, We Must be American Dream-ing
As a resident of the NYC metro-area, your humble e-newsletter editor has seen his share of retail establishments come and go. While he can remember the days when the Nanuet Mall (now known as The Shops at Nanuet), was powered by retail anchor Bamberger’s, he also remembers when American Dream, which opened to great fanfare and excitement a few weeks ago, was just a shovel in the East Rutherford, NJ, dirt and called Xanadu. While it’s not fully open yet (it’s opening in phases), and it hasn’t been without its controversies (parking – see story below for new ideas, prices on the rise at Nickelodeon), many experienced mall shoppers have shown great interest in the unique attraction, which expects to be more entertainment than retail. It could very well be a glimpse into retail’s future.
“Hipsturbia” Trend Needs Retail and other Sectors to Succeed
No one just buys a home or a townhouse or rents an apartment anymore. It’s part of a community. It’s not enough to live near shopping, transit, entertainment; it’s all got to be even closer. But not city-close. That’s too close. Enter “Hipsturbia.” It’s apparently a term first used in the New York Times in 2013. Senior Housing News says it’s high on the list of emerging real estate trends in 2020, and it’s not only for seniors. “Walkable, highly-amenitized communities are appealing to them — and, in fact, it’s reasonable to think that hipsturbias offer a place where multiple generations can live happily in close proximity to each other.”
Data Helps Improve Parking for Better Customer Relations
There are a million things on your mind when it comes to your retail business. Product selection. Marketing. Pricing. Technology. Parking. Wait, parking? Of course, parking! If parking’s an issue, it can turn away even the most regular customer. The long-awaited American Dream mall opened in NJ just last month (see above) and people are grumbling about the parking situation already (I guess that comes with the territory – the mall has been more than two decades in the making). As IoTForAll.com noted recently, a negative or positive parking experience can set the tone for a shopper’s entire trip. Technology and data offer a solution: “Shopping at a brick-and-mortar location starts with looking for parking, and the average driver wastes 12 minutes finding a spot at the average mall. With artificial intelligence (AI)-powered IoT devices, the parking search time can be dramatically reduced, helping to reinvigorate brick-and-mortar retailers.” This so-called “Smart Parking” tech can help customers find spots more efficiently and provide data to retailers on the length of a customer’s visit, or even let them offer premiere parking for an added fee.
Visit DMM at the 2019 ICSC Deal Making Show – Booth #363
When you stop to think about it, it’s amazing how all those “1s” and “0s” combine to create data that can help your business. We’ve already done the hard part – gathering the data – and compiled it in a way that you can use it to make sense of your world. Come to the DMM booth (#363) during ICSC’s New York Deal Making, December 10-12, 2019, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City, and see how the data we have on 8,490+ major shopping centers and malls, over 318,100 tenant locations and more than 42,500 VIP contacts can work for you! It’s the data you need, when you need it. Check out ShoppingCenters.com first, then be sure to stop by our booth! This event has always been a great opportunity for owners, developers, retailers, brokers, lenders, municipalities, property asset managers and product and service providers to gather under one roof to make deals and form successful partnerships. See you there!
DMM e-News - Issue #169
