Brick and mortar retail is alive and well – yet it’s undergoing an era of change. Where will we shop in the future?
A study from management consulting firm A.T. Kearney projects a changing future for retail real estate.
The Mall Is Dead. Long Live the Mall is the main message of the study, which is called The Future of Shopping Centers.
The research behind The Future of Shopping Centers points to a shift from traditional shopping centers and malls to re-envisioned, multifaceted consumer engagement spaces, or CESs.
"In the future, retail-based real estate will be environments where people gather to engage with friends, connect with like-minded shoppers, seek out unique experiences, reaffirm values, and interactively relate to brands on a personal level," says Michael Brown, A.T. Kearney partner and author of the study.
Diverging from the tales of a "retail apocalypse" filling business journals, the study envisions a renaissance of physical retail in America, as shopping centers transform in response to consumer shifts and technology.
