SHOPPING CENTER INSIGHTS BY JEFF DERVECHBlog

Amazon opened its first suburban convenience store concept called “Amazon Go” in Washington on April 26, 2022. The new concept is tailored to the busy, on the go, fast-paced commuters who are looking to grab a snack or meal quickly. Patrons simply enter the store using the Amazon shopping app. Once you’re in the store, you can grab the products you want and go! There are essentially no lines or checkout. Some of the product...

The convenience store retailer, Wawa Inc. is planning major growth and adding hundreds of new locations that will connect its stores along the East coast and into Florida. With over 1,000 stores already, the chain is planning to open an additional 1,800 locations by 2030. Wawa is looking to fill the void of stores between Virginia and Florida with expansion into new states. The store will build a few different concepts, one being “traditional,” which...

With the rise of inflation, speculation is whirling as to how often consumers will continue to eat out at restaurants due to increase in prices across the board. One recent study is now proving this to be true. Middle income Americans are worrying more about their budgets now than they ever have before, reviewing the costs of all items that they elect to spend their money on. This is a direct impact from the recent...

With the shift in consumers buying so many goods online, Walgreens was challenged to stay competitive in the pharmaceutical sector and is changing how it fills prescriptions to be more efficient. Walgreens has opened one of its first micro-fulfillment centers in Texas to fill prescriptions using robotic arms. Within this facility there are approximately 220 employees including pharmacist’s that fill roughly 35,000 prescriptions per day. Walgreens plans to open 22 more fulfillment centers throughout the...

The automotive net lease market is not slowing down. Retail tenants that include an auto related use are much more resistant to e-commerce, essentially recession proof, and are considered to be very stable and secure users of retail space. With close to 282 million cars on the road in the United States, car services and auto part businesses are essential to consumers.  “On average, American’s drive 12,000 miles each year and spend 1.5 percent of...

Drive-thru lanes have been around for decades and not much has changed. However, since the Pandemic, many restaurant tenants single handedly witnessed drive thru lanes and take out operational components as lifelines to keeping their businesses afloat. Due to this, more restaurants are interested and desire to add drive-thru lane components to their current prototype and future expansion plans for customer convenience and the enhancement of the overall experience.  “According to the NPD Group, drive-thru restaurant...

Ghost kitchens are a popular concept that have been on the rise even since before the pandemic. Now, with changing consumer demand, labor shortages, as well as the advances in technology, Ghost kitchens are thriving.   One of the main drivers of the ghost kitchens concept prior to the pandemic was that it involved less overhead due to the smaller kitchen only footprint and virtually no employees except kitchen staff. This ghost kitchen food model allows...

The rising increase in preventative medicine and the awareness surrounding people’s desire to keep healthy has led to the growth of many new health and wellness concepts that are finding homes within neighborhood retail strip centers. These non-traditional “med-tail” concepts include alternative medicine, acupuncture, massage therapy, cryotherapy and physical therapy. Instead of renting space within healthcare facilities, health and wellness tenants have been strategically positioning themselves in highly visible, high traffic shopping centers. Med-tail tenants...

An interesting trend we are closely watching, is the growing list of direct-to-consumer retailers that started their businesses online and are now adopting physical stores to reach new shoppers, boost profits, and drive brand awareness.   One retailer who plans to hit the ground running, opening three stores in Massachusetts this year, is Wayfair. They had tremendous success in 2020 with consumers wanting to enhance their homes during the Coronavirus Pandemic. Wayfair’s sales rose 55% from...

Promise is on the horizon! The commercial real estate environment remains favorable in 2022. Investors are choosing real estate and propelling into the market in an effort to diversify their portfolios for many different reasons which include inflation, the volatile stock market, and the low interest rate environment for debt.  Below are a few highlights.  Significant capital and available debt will contribute to another year of growth. “ Preqin reported commercial real estate funds collected over $152.2...

Supply chain shortages and labor challenges have put increased pressure on restaurants across the nation. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the food away from home index rose 6.4 percent in 2021 which is the highest increase since 1982. In order to handle these pressures, restaurants such as Del Taco and 4River’s Smokehouse have launched special “Inflation Menu’s,” which showcase a variety of options with better meal values.   With food and paper-goods costs rising...

During the Pandemic, fitness centers faced very trying times with shutdowns across the nation. Along with pent up-demand to go out in public again, the “great reopening” of 2021 has brought a wave of new fitness enthusiasts who feel safer with more people vaccinated. In addition, consumers are learning to live with the new “normal” with COVID-19 present in society. Global fitness franchise F45 is almost doubling its locations. It has more than 3,200 franchises...