DMM Retail Industry e-News Issue #223

NRF 2022’s Top Six Retail Trends (Apologies to Olivia Newton-John: Let’s Get “Phygital”)

The National Retail Federation held the group’s Big Show last month at the Javits Center in NYC. Retail industry professionals discovered new technologies to help them figure out new ways to bounce back and out of the pandemic. The folks from the B-to-B industry publication, MarketScale, came away with six retail trends, including quality content, BOPIS (Buy-Online-Pickup-In-Store) and something dubbed the “Phygital” consumer, which the author, Daniel Litwin, describes as, “This blurring of lines between digital and brick & mortar strategies is requiring the store associate, the front line of defense for maintaining a positive in-store customer experience, to have new tools for understanding their customers’ omni-presence, and to learn new skills for recommending products and staying one step ahead of the consumer’s desires.” We talked about BOPIS recently in issue #220 of our newsletter. Click here to check it out.

Cali Mall Adding Apartments for “Tight” Lifestyle Experience

Recently, your humble e-newsletter editor, a very proud and not twenty-something raised in the 70s and 80s, was speaking with a colleague, a very proud 20-something raised this millennium. We were discussing the concept of working, eating, playing – living at a mall. “Tight,” was his response to yours truly’s suggestion that this is the future (and in some places, the present, such as The Americana at Brand). Once it was established that in this case, the word “tight” referenced something interesting, positive and of value, it was clear that the younger generation was looking at malls in a very different way. It’s his mindset that the folks behind the MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana, CA, are hoping to tap into. As the Orange County Register recently reported, they’re putting up a new 309-unit apartment complex on a parking lot at the mall, part of a $500 million redevelopment that will feature open air courtyards, dining, a music venue, possibly office space and a grocery store. “It’s a different landscape today. It’s about re-merchandizing to meet the consumer’s need. The shopping is still a part of it. But it’s more food and beverage, its health, wellness and beauty. It’s entertainment,” said Steven Levin, founder and chief executive for MainPlace managing partner Centennial Real Estate Co. They expect the apartments to be available for lease in about two years. Use your ShoppingCenters.com subscription to check out the “deets” (details) on the malls mentioned in this article.

You Can Have Your Big Football Game, We’ll Take Hibbett | City Gear Any Time!

By the time you read this, the Cincinnati Bengals may (or may not) have stunned the pro football world with its amazing win over the favored L.A. Rams. Either way, things are looking great for our friends at Hibbett | City Gear. “Despite all material and supply chain issues we are proud to say we opened 35 new locations in 2021. One of the last stores to open was just down from where I live in Homewood, AL,” said Jeff Gray, Vice President of Store Development, in a recent post in LinkedIN. The Birmingham-based premium athleisure and footwear retailer has more than 1,000 stores across the country, and specializes in gear from all the major sports, and features sporty men’s and women’s fashions. One of their new stores opened in Kansas City, MO, in the 3rd quarter last year (when the Chiefs were heavily favored to return to the big game, which, alas, they did not). The Kansas City Business Journal noted that the new location was its third in Kansas City (with five overall in the Kansas City market).