Tech Industry to Retail: We’ll Help You with Online Competition
Retail must go mobile, use data wisely and provide consumers with a unique experience (thanks to technology, in many cases) to compete with the internet. That’s according to tech media outlet ZDNet, which notes technology vendors are looking to bring artificial intelligence, big data and the “Internet of Things” to brick-and-mortar outlets. “Two years ago, omnichannel was everything. And some retailers (Best Buy is one shining example) delivered on their plans. Last year, Intel said it would invest in Internet of things technology for retail innovation. This year, responsiveness is everything along with a dash of automation and anticipation of shopper needs. The general idea is that a top-notch experience for customers can serve as some Amazon defense.”
2017 – The Retail Arrow Heads Up
The numbers are in and things are looking better for retail, both real-world and online. The National Retail Federation said sales for the critical last two months of 2017 increased to $692 billion, up 5.5% over the same period from the year before. Buzzfeed reported online shopping in 2017 contributed $138 billion in sales, an increase of 11.5% over 2016. Target stores “fulfilled 70% of Target’s digital orders over the holiday season, meaning that stores enabled about 80% of the company’s comparable sales growth in that period.” Noting additional retail success, USA Today noted that T.J. Maxx and Ulta, for example, were doing well by doing things differently. “At a time when more Americans are shopping online, the most successful retailers are offering experiences and conveniences that appeal to customers whether they are browsing their websites or making a trip to an actual store.”
Illinois’ Oldest Shopping Center Sold for $48M
The oldest shopping center in Illinois, “a strong performing asset in a bifurcated retail marketplace, thanks to its location and population density,” has new ownership. Retail Properties of America has, according to BisNow, a commercial real estate website, acquired Plaza del Lago in Wilmette from the Moss family for $48 million dollars. Family patriarch Joseph Moss died last year, prompting the move to sell the property. “Plaza del Lago opened in 1928 as a retail and entertainment complex called Spanish Court, the second shopping center in the U.S. designed for automobile use. In the early 1960s, lawyers Plato Foufas and Joseph Stefan bought the property and redeveloped it.” The Plaza del Lago website says its 22-acre piece of land was once “marked by lawlessness and unwanted by the neighboring towns of Wilmette, Kenilworth, Evanston and Winnetka, known as ‘No Man’s Land.’”
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