our vision for retail in 2021.

our vision for retail in 2021.

retail is not dead.

despite all the headlines saying it is so, retail is like anything, evolving.

The pandemic pushed us fast forward into a quick pivot.

Restaurants immediately secured contracts with third party delivery services to quickly realizing how much of a margin these delivery services take. restaurants immediately ordered take out packaging, but without the time to research and investigate, the costs of such packaging led to an increase costs to consumers.

Retail was already struggling in that the young consumers were shopping online more often than in stores and when they did go to a store, they had already made up their mind regarding what they wanted. no more could the endcaps in the aisles woo them into adding an additional purchase.

Along our travels in southeast Asia last year, we noticed smaller footprints of shops and those who opted to remain large, added entertainment to their spaces.

In the U.S. we will continue to see more mixed-use development where a balance can be reached by onsite residents, offices, added benefit of a business traveler with a hotel and a place where all of these create an environment where people can come together.

We were inspired by an article by The Brookings Institute this week mentioning “the “end” of cities, the unknown future of the urban public realm.” We believe that with the majority of the population home bound, our future is bright and our downtowns will return with vigor.

The question is, will the developers of today create smart cities for the future?