CSA - 4/22

March/April 2022

Reimagining Stores: Remodels Take Off Construction Tech Trends Walmart’s New Store Design

STORE EXPANSION HEATS U P

Retail real estate execs look to expand store counts in 2022

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from the editor’s desk

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On the Level: A real estate column

Contents

tech viewpoint: a retail tech column

VOL. 98 MARCH/APRIL NO. 2

COVER STORY

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STORE EXPANSION HEATS UP: Retail real estate executives are expanding their store counts, according to exclusive CSA survey.

STORE SPACES

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Remodel activity on the rise as retailers reimagine their stores for the new era.

Walmart unveils new store design that aims to elevate the customer experience.

Retailers should move quickly to take advantage of EV charger rebates.

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Special section on Chain Store Age’s 58th annual SPECS Show, with agenda and exhibitor listing.

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Top construction technology trends to watch in 2022 — and beyond.

Store Spaces Q&A: Total Restroom’s Scott Krueger discusses the impact of the pandemic on restroom design.

ShopTalk: Savage X Fenty makes mall debut; Petco setting up shop in Lowe’s.

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CSA (USPS 054-410; ISSN 0193-1199), is published bimonthly by EnsembleIQ, 8550 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60631, on a controlled basis to qualified retailer titles and architects. Real estate and shopping center owners and developers $75 per year. All other non-qualified in the United States: $80 one year; $155 two year; $14 single issue copy; Canada and Mexico: $105 one year; $185 two year; $16 single issue copy; Foreign: $115 one year; $215 two year; $16 single issue copy. Digital edition subscription: $55 one year digital; $105 two year digital. Periodicals postage paid at Chicago, IL and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to CSA, Circulation Fulfillment Director, 8550 W. Bryn Mawr Ave, Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60631. Subscription changes may also be emailed to contact@chainstoreage.com, or call 1-877-687-7321. Vol. 98, No. 2, March/April 2022. Copyright ©2022 by EnsembleIQ. All rights reserved.

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Contents VOL. 98 MARCH/APRIL NO. 2

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REAL ESTATE

TECH

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How medical centers and other non-traditional tenants keep retail centers healthy

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Insights on metaverse retailing from the founder and CEO of AR/ VR shopping platform Obsess, Neha Singh

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The Kroger Co.’s senior director of onboarding and training, Senchal Murphy, discusses how the company uses its app for employee onboarding, training and engagement.

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FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

Rising Stars: Ten Brands to Watch As our cover story this issue makes clear, not all retail companies are downsizing their physical assets. Far from it.

In recent years the terms “rightsizing” and “store optimization” have become a nice way of referring to store closings. But both can also be applied to retailers that still see plenty of potential for growth and are looking to grow their physical footprints.

Foot traffic analytics firm Placer.ai has identified 10 expanding retail brands to watch in the coming year. Each has experienced substantial growth in either foot traffic or footprint during the past year or so.

Here’s a brief recap of the 10 brands.

• Allbirds: The digitally native sustainable footwear brand has made the leap to brick-and-mortar with 32 stores, but it’s just getting started. In documents filed with the SEC for its IPO, the company said it is in the early phase of a ramp up “towards hundreds of potential locations in the future.”

• Arhaus: The furniture retailer targets high-income households which continue to grow as a percentage of household ownership in the United States. Arhaus currently has more than 70 stores, with an ultimate target of 165-plus locations nationwide. It recently introduced a smaller, design-studio format.

• Blink Fitness: The affordable fitness chain has seen its year-over-two-year visits skyrocket. Blink shows no sign of slowing down as consumers look for more affordable, low-commitment alternatives to pricier health clubs.

• Burlington: The off-price retailer intends to open roughly 120 new stores in 2022, and 130 to 150 new stores annually.

The chain’s new, smaller prototype has increased the pool of potential real estate sites and allowed the company to operate with a leaner inventory.

CHAIN STORE AGE

• Dutch Bros: The fast-growing, Oregon-based coffee chain, which went public in September, currently has more than 500 locations, and plans 125+ new locations this year. Dutch Bros. hopes to eventually have 4,000 shops.

• Gopuff: The online food delivery company has started to open its microfulfillment centers to the public. Its acquisition of 161 BevMo! Stores out West and 23 Liquor Barn locations in Kentucky signals more aggressive retail expansion in 2022, both organically and via acquisition, according to Placer.ai.

• Popshelf: The new format from Dollar General targets a younger, wealthier and more suburban shopper who loves looking for a good deal with continually refreshed merchandise. The company plans to open approximately 1,000 Popshelf stores by the end of 2025, beginning in 2022 with the addition of 100 locations.

• Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers: The quick-serve restaurant chain, which opened its 600th location in January, plans to open 100 new stores across 10 new markets in 2022.

“The brand has benefited from two key trends in the restaurant industry post-COVID: drive-thru and menu simplicity,” said Placer.ai.

• Sephora in Kohl’s: The 2,500-sq.ft. in-store Sephora shops in Kohl’s are designed to offer an experience that mimics the look and feel of a freestanding Sephora. Currently, some 200 shops are open, with plans to add 400 more in 2022, towards a goal of 850 shops by 2023.

• Warby Parker: One of the first online retailers to make a commitment to brick-and-mortar, Warby currently has more than 160 stores, with 35 new locations opened last year.

According to the Placer.ai report, Warby Parker has seen foot traffic at its stores increase roughly 75% between September 2020 and December 2021.

Marianne Wilson mwilson@chainstoreage.com

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CHANNELS chainstoreage.com > COMMERCE > CUSTOMERS

An EnsembleIQ Publication

Corporate Office: 8550 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60631

Vice President, Group Publisher, CSA, SPECS Chairman Gary Esposito (212) 756-5118, gesposito@chainstoreage.com

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Corporate Officers Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Litterick Chief Human Resources Officer Ann Jadown Chief Financial Officer Jane Volland Chief Innovation Officer Tanner Van Dusen Executive Vice President, Events & Conference Ed Several Executive Vice President, Content Joe Territo

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STORE TRENDS

Reimagining Stores Retailers flex their remodeling muscles to address design atrophy

By Connie Gentry

D

oors are open, masks are off in most places and what we’ve been waiting to happen for two years now is finally underway: Consumers are going back to a world where they can socialize and shop, not entirely pandemic-free, but closer to the norm they were accustomed to.

But in retail, going back to the future is boring. Customers don’t want to walk into a store and find it exactly as they left it in 2020. That’s an experience that reeks of disappointment.

Standing virtually idle or running at half-speed produces a different kind of wear and tear on store designs — they

become stale, stagnant, and desperately in need of reinvention.

Across the industry, experts concur: The way to address retail atrophy is to flex your design muscle.

Max Miller, manager, marketing and brand strategy at Chute Gerdeman, said the industry has entered “a golden age for remodels.” Among retail portfolios, smart money is being invested in store remodels and successful retail chains are working harder than ever to get their stores back in shape.

“Remodels slowed down a great deal in 2020, but the pace has never picked up harder than it has now,” Miller said

“Remodels are turning into new store prototypes and helping retailers branch out with what their brand can offer.”

Elizabeth Seitz, partner in charge of store planning and construction at Chute Gerdeman, added that remodels offer retailers a chance to enhance the buy-online-pickup-in-store experience and draw the consumer in to stay longer.

“It’s an opportunity to enhance not only the environment, but the whole experience,” she said.

Setting the Stage From the moment customers enter the store, they need to feel the newness. This

In-store shops are also fueling store remodelng initiatives.

Kohl’s plans to add 400 Sephora at Kohl’s shops this year.

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PHOTO CREDIT: MARK STEELE

is not a time for subtlety — experts say that remodels should instantly convey the reasons why the store is the place the shopper wants to be, that it’s a place to explore and feel comfortable.

“Retailers are being bolder and more expressive with their design,” said Jamie Cornelius, executive creative director of ChangeUp. “They want to get your attention. We’re in this moment where brands have taken the last year and thought about what they stand for, and they want to make an impact. It’s not about subtle moves.”

The sterile white, neutral boxes that dominated retail spaces for so long are fast becoming history. Now the vibe is veering to bright, bold colors, warm wood tones and lighting that creates movement and energy.

“What we’re seeing from an overall design aesthetic is a fresher, more open space; one that is brighter and feels more welcoming, with more glazing,” Cornelius said.

The form is about comfort, the function is about convenience. Consumers have become as proprietary about how they spend their time as how they spend their dollars. With that mind, all retailers, from high-end boutiques to grocers to convenience stores, need to rethink the point-of-sale line.

“A lot of the remodeling work we’re doing for retailers relates to a brand refresh or a reset of store offerings based on supply chain issues, staff shortages, or to mitigate labor costs,” said Jay Baptista, global retail leader, Stantec. “We’re adding cashierless POS systems and self-checkouts as well as graband-go scenarios where it’s just a pick-up.”

Stantec has also seen an increase in the pace of retail remodels. The company has experienced a 5% to 10% increase in project releases above 2021.

“At the same time, the number of RFPs and the new opportunities that are coming out are probably 30% to 40% above what we saw in 2020 and 2021,” Baptista added.

Panera Bread’s next-gen, immersive store design will be be featured in new builds and remodels.

EMPLOYEES Fresh, updated spaces and efficiency in operations are important not only for engaging customers but also for attracting and retaining employees — an especially important priority as companies compete for workers amid a labor crunch that shows no signs of letting up anytime soon.

“It’s interesting that quite a few people are considering what the store design means for their employees,” Cornelius said. “We recently worked on a NextGen remodel for Panera that was marrying the experience [bringing the bread baking front and center in the remodel design] with the convenience [integrating their loyalty app]. Panera wanted a remodel design that would give their employees more pride.”

A similar theme played out at another ChangeUp client, Discount Tire. The company wanted the remodel design to create the best possible experience for employees since retention is key to the overall health of their locations.

Convenience stores are also undergoing a necessary and innovative reinvention through remodeling. Cluttered and in some cases virtually windowless spaces with a cashier working behind a caged enclosure are being transformed to bright, well-lit spaces with expanded product offerings.

“Some convenience stores are also investing in the exteriors of the stores,

giving customers visibility inside so they feel invited and creating a more seamless transition, resulting in a really nice c-store experience,” Chute Gerdeman’s Miller said. “We’re getting more experimental with color cueing and creating destinations in the store. There’s a little bit of linear practicality to it that makes the store look good and also make sense.”

Tracy Zaslow, senior director, design and construction, Luxury Brand Holdings, sees three three key approaches or trends when it comes to store remodels. One is the basic refresh of an existing space, which she calls a mini-scope.

Another entails a reinvention of the space. In some instances, retailers are reimaging their stores to handle surges in online order pickup, both in-store and at curbside. In others, they are shrinking the back of house to create selling space and/or enhance the customer experience.

“It’s not about getting more product on the floor necessarily,” Zaslow said. “It’s about providing space to breathe and creating a space that offers the customer more of a journey. The store needs to be an enjoyable space to be in. It shouldn’t be crammed with product or back-of-house stock.”

Partnerships The third remodel trend is being fueled by retail partnerships with other brands.

The store-within-a-store concept is not new, but it has been reinvigorated by digital native retailers looking to raise 9

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STORE TRENDS

Target’s remodeled stores include upgraded pickup areas for online order fulfillment.

Target Remodels Drive Growth

Target Corp. will continue its ambitious remodeling program in 2022, with 200 topto-bottom renovations of its existing fleet.

The program, which has now reached more than half of the chain’s nearly 2,000 stores since the effort started a couple of years back, continue to evolve.

“These aren’t the same remodels we are rolling out when we started,” Target COO John Mulligan told analysts on the company’s most recent earnings call. “Each year, our architects and construction crews update our plans to keep raising the bar on retail design. And our guests continue to tell us they like what they see.”

Following a remodel, traffic gains across the store helped drive an average 2% to 4% sales lift in year one, Mulligan added, and another 1% to 2% lift in year two.

The upcoming round of remodels feature modern design elements that include brighter lighting, elevated merchandise displays and new fixtures. Other important elements include upgraded guest services and enhanced hold space and pickup areas for online order fulfillment.

(In 2021, 95% of Target total sales — physical and digital combined — were fulfilled by stores.)

On top of the full-store remodels, Target will also complete hundreds of smaller projects across the chain to support the growth of its fulfillment services and expanding in-store brand partnerships.

Of Target’s brand partnerships, one of its largest involves the rollout of Ulta Beauty at Target shop-in-shop, which launched last August. The company plans to add more than 250 Ulta shops in 2022, building towards a goal of 800.

their profile by going physical and by traditional retailers looking to bring in new customers that may be outside their core demographic.

Kohl’s, for example, plans to add 400 Sephora at Kohl’s shops in 2022, with a goal of 850 locations by 2023. The in-store shops average 2,500 sq. ft. and offer an experience that mimics the look and feel of a freestanding Sephora. (As of press time, there were approximately 200 Sephora at Kohl’s locations.)

In a release, Kohl’s said the shops have been driving sales, bringing in new, younger and more diverse customers and enabling cross-categry purchases across all lines of business.

“New customers represent more than 25% of Sephora at Kohl’s shoppers,” Kohl’s CEO Michelle Gass said on the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call in March.

Increasingly for many retailers, the goal of creating immersive, meaningful experiences for customers is the result of complementary partnerships.

“Retail is very complementary — it doesn’t need to be the focal point or the main reason why someone is there,” added Miller. “The store can complement nightlife or a restaurant; retail is a partner to all sorts of different experiences.

You’ve got to strike where you can take a brand, make sense of the space, and connect with people.”

Similarly, Paul Conder, principal of Callison RTKL in New York, highlights the new remodels his company is doing for Nordstrom.

“They are almost becoming hospitality spaces, with food, bars, and entertainment spread through the space to give people a reason to socialize around shopping,” he explained. “That’s a good example of mixing what you do as a retailer (sell shoes), with something else the customer loves (having drinks with friends), to create an experience that’s worth more than the sum of its parts.”

In a back-to-the-future moment, Conder said that many interactions have moved to mobile, leaving the store doing what it does best — creating an IRL [in real life] personal connection.

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“[In that respect,] the store of the future looks a lot more like the store of the past than the store of the present,” he added.

ADAPTIVE REUSE The spectrum of design preferences across analog and digital solutions underscores the reality that one size doesn’t fit all retail spaces. That’s true even within a single brand’s portfolio where cookiecutter designs have lost their appeal.

In working with a number of digital natives that are opening brick-and mortar stores, Chute Gerdeman is seeing the emerging trend of adaptive reuse take hold.

“They might find the real estate in a location they want but instead of demoing everything, they are looking at that space more like a remodel, asking: ‘What can we use or reuse,’” Seitz said. “Some of that is driven economically and some of it is driven by sustainability — they don’t want to throw it all out if it can be reused.

And it builds on another trend, which is creating a local or neighborhood feel in the space instead of every store being [identical].”

The life cycle of retail space is constantly evolving and accelerating. Leases that were traditionally 10 years morphed to five years, and in some cases even shorter terms.

“It’s become a quick turnover and people are recognizing that is super wasteful so the trend is to designing systems that have the ability to be easily updated and that also look at mitigating costs and being much more environmentally conscious,” Zaslow explained.

Conder echoed the need for an adaptive approach to remodeling projects.

“For most brands, sustainability is a core value and a part of the overall corporate commitment, but the road map to get there isn’t clear,” he said. “Partnering with designers and sustainability experts, brands are making significant steps with an adaptive reuse approach. Maximizing the lifespan of quality fixtures and interior fit-outs through sensible reuse saves material and energy.”

Connie Gentry is a business writer based in Raleigh, N.C.

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NEW FORMATS

Walmart’s New Look Store redesign combines physical, digital elements

By Marianne Wilson Walmart is looking to put some “wow” in its stores.

The retail giant unveiled an updated store experience at its incubator location (Store 4108) in Springdale, Ark. The goal is to better engage customers and make Walmart a destination where they want to spend their time.

The new experience is actually the second phase of a store redesign effort that Walmart introduced in fall 2020.

The company now has approximately 1,000 stores renovated with the 2020 design, which is focused on navigation and wayfinding.

The second phase of the redesign enhances Walmart stores’ physical, human and digital design elements “to inspire customers and elevate the experience,” the retailer said. The physical elements include improved lighting, space enhancements and dynamic displays.

In addition, visual merchandising experts have highlighted brands and created engaging experiences that bring to life the human element and lets shoppers interact with products, which isn’t possible online.

Also new: QR codes and digital screens that “create opportunities for digital exploration,” offering detailed information about a brand or product as well as providing “endless aisle” choices.

Elevated brand shops are prominent in the redesign.

Here are the highlights of the redesign, which the retailer has dubbed “Time Well Spent.”

• Activated corners: Exciting displays at the corners of certain departments pull customers in and help them touch, feel and become a part of the space, allowing them to discover all that is available.

The home area, for example, may feature a living room or bedroom set up where the customer can squeeze a throw pillow or feel a blanket and then find the items onsite to purchase and take home, or order them online.

• Elevated brand shops: The new design showcases shop-in-shops across

Fashion takes center stage in the apparel department, which highlights owned and national brands.

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owned as well as national brands. The baby department features elevated displays showcasing all the items needed to create a dream nursery, with strollers and car seats brought out of the box to allow for test drives.

The beauty department has been given an upgrade, with shops that highlight new and trending items.

• More space: Walmart said it has purposefully created more space for customers to explore and discover the breadth and depth of the store’s offering. The assortment has been optimized to elevate storytelling that draws customers in.

• Digital touchpoints: QR codes and digital screens are strategically used throughout the space to convey to customers the vast range of products and services that Walmart offers online.

“Early results show that customers are wowed by the redesign,” Alvis Washington, Walmart VP, marketing store design, innovation and experience, wrote in a post on the company’s website.

“We’ll continue to test, learn, and make changes based on what our customers tell us. As we do that, we’ll quickly adjust and deliver an even better, more engaging experience in 2022 and beyond.”

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PERFORMANCE OF FM TEAMS DRAMATICALLY IMPACTED BY THE SUPPLY CHAIN For any organization, the cost of FM parts and supplies can amount to between 20-30% of their total FM budget, but this is only part of the story. Inefficiencies in the parts & materials supply chain and buying process result in technicians spending anywhere from 25-40% of their “wrench time” driving to, shopping for, or in some other way waiting for parts – a huge chunk of the budget.

Unfortunately, due to the rapid graying and exit of the maintenance workforce, this productivity drain is only going to increase.

A digitized FM parts supply chain offers immediate opportunity to reduce cost and waste. Our research indicates that both in-sourced and third-party technicians are now leveraging the digital supply chain – primarily through eCommerce catalogs and online marketplaces, including Grainger.com, Amazon Business, Alibaba, and eBay to locate and purchase FM parts and materials for both preventive and reactive maintenance. But this activity has been limited to spot buys of one-off products, not as a supply chain solution for all sites and technicians.

The primary driver for this shift is technicians seeking the same buying experience that they enjoy as consumers – easy to navigate site, wide selection, certainty of availability, and omnichannel fulfillment.

This holds especially true in FM, where parts & supplies procurement involves all products that are used for preventive & reactive maintenance, repairs, and capital improvements.

Experience indicates that digital supply chain has the potential to:

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Decrease total supply chain costs by over 10% Improve end-to-end visibility and control Improve maintenance productivity (wrench time) by as much as 20%.

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Traditional Approach Results in 20-30% of the Aggregate FM Budget Being Sub-optimized The conventional practice has been for field maintenance technicians and/or third-party contractors to purchase materials locally and add a pre-negotiated surcharge/mark-up (10-25%) to the invoice upon completion of the service or repair.

This decentralized approach results in 20-30% of the aggregate FM budget being off limits in terms of management or optimization. However, it gets worse. When viewed systemically, we see that the decentralized approach to parts management inadvertently impacts several other areas, including:

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Maintenance wrench time Asset lifecycle Operating expense Compliance with enterprise CSR strategies and initiatives related to energy, sustainability, and diversity

In the not-too-distant past, multi-site organizations managed services much the same way that they manage parts today, namely through a decentralized approach to procurement with a highly fragmented supply base.

This was due mainly to the lack of CMMS & WOM technology. Despite its enormous size (20-30% of FM budget), until recently FM professionals had no way to access this potentially very rich source of value creation. However, in the post-pandemic retail FM world, that approach is no longer tenable. Shrinking budgets and rising costs (labor and supplies) within FM are forcing leaders to rethink their approach to parts & supplies from a cost of doing business to a source of value generation and competitive advantage.

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Bringing Parts Spend under Management Yields 12-18% Savings But what is not obvious is the positive impact on other elements of value, including:

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STORE SPACES

1

EV Charger Rebates

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Retailers should move quickly to take advantage of incentives

By Marianne Wilson

Sales of electric vehicles are projected to skyrocket during the next few years with millions of cars coming to the roads. Automotive executives, on average, expect that EVs will account for 52% of their sales by 2030, according to KPMG’s 22nd annual Global Automotive Executive Survey.

Access to charging stations, however, remains a challenge to widespread EV adoption. Retailers and malls have emerged as key players in the market with companies big and small installing parking lot EV charging stations. In one of the largest rollouts to date, Walgreens is expanding an existing partnership with EV charging network provider Volta.

The pharmacy giant will install 1,000 DC fast-charging stalls from Volta at more than 500 Walgreens locations throughout the U.S. In a time of hype-competition, EV charging stations give retailers the opportunity to extend in-store time for existing customers, attract new ones and build goodwill. Many EV stations also offer branding, advertising and crosspromotional opportunities.

As charging stations become more common, so are rebates. Currently, 51% of the U.S. has a rebate for the installation of

Rebate Sources Rebates and incentives for EV chargers can come from a variety of sources, according to BriteSwitch. The most widely available funding source is the Federal 30C Tax Credit, also referred to as the “Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Tax Credit.” It provides a tax credit of up to $30,000 for commercial applications.

But that is just the low-hanging fruit — 57% of the country is also covered by an additional rebate, incentive or grant for EV chargers.

a commercial EV charger, but eligibility can vary depending on the type, according to BriteSwitch, which helps businesses find and take advantage of rebates and incentive programs that exist across the United States and Canada.

Below is an update on commercial EV chargers and rebates from BriteSwitch. (For more detailed information go to briteswitch.com.)

• Types: A Level 1 EV charger — primarily used in residential applications — plugs into a standard outlet and is the type of charger that comes with most EVs. It can add two to three miles to a car for each hour connected.

The most popular charger in both residential and commercial applications is a Level 2 EV, which lets users charge up their electric vehicle about five times faster. These chargers use 240V and can be hardwired or use a NEMA 14-50 Plug. They add 12 to 60 miles to a battery each hour.

Level 2 EV chargers are the most commonly incentivized. Almost half of the U.S. (49%) has a rebate available for this type of equipment. While the dollar amount varies, the average rebate for a Level 2 charger is $1,731.

A Level 3 EV charger — also called fast chargers, DCFC chargers or DC fast chargers — is the fastest type of EV charger.

Limited to commercial applications, these units typically use 400V or more and add 150 miles to a battery in an hour.

Level 3 commercial EV charger rebates are less popular, with only 38% of the country having an additional incentive available. But because these charging stations are much more expensive than Level 2 chargers, the incentive can be significantly higher. On average, the rebate for a Level 3 / DC fast charger is $37,878.

When installing multiple chargers, it’s important to look for any rebate caps per site. Some programs will only allow a certain number of chargers. Others will cap the incentive at a specific dollar amount per site.

• Limited Time: Some EV charger rebate programs have limited funding that goes very quickly. This issue will likely be even more true in the future as EVs grow in popularity. Pay attention to deadlines and make sure to adhere to them. Research the options early on to see if a program currently has a waitlist or will be re-opening in the future.

While rebates for technologies such as lighting, HVAC and other efficient equipment have been around for many years, EV chargers are different in that they don’t provide energy efficiency benefits. Instead, they offer the utility a new way to make revenue.

In theory, there will eventually be enough chargers to meet the demand, and these rebates may no longer be needed. Consequently, it’s very likely that early adopters of EV charging will be the only ones to benefit from rebates.

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CHAINSTOREAGE.COM

3/4/22 1:48 PM

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The smartest way to manage waste and recycling at scale

Whether you have just a few locations or hundreds, Rubicon is the answer for multi-location franchises looking for an all-in-one waste and recycling solution.

Enhanced visibility into your waste management services means deeper insight into your waste streams, informed decision making, and increasing efficiencies across locations.

Meet with us at the SPECS Show in Grapevine Booth #524 March 20-22

Learn more at Rubicon.com

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Chain Store Age’s annual SPECS Show

MARCH 20-22 Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center | Grapevine, TX

SPECS is the premier event for store planning, design, construction and facilities professionals. Now in its 58th year, SPECS offers targeted educational sessions, dynamic keynotes, a best-in-class exhibit floor and networking opportunities.

INSIDE: SPECS Agenda-At-A-Glance Exhibitor Listing

REIMAGINE. INNOVATE. EXECUTE. CHAINSTOREAGE.COM

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AGENDA AT-A-GLANCE SUNDAY, MARCH 20 1:00pm - 2:00pm

Exhibitor Welcome Luncheon and Orientation Panel Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tate 3

2:30pm - 3:00pm

Retailer Orientation Panel Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Yellow Rose Ballroom

3:00pm - 4:00pm

Retailer-Only Networking Reception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Longhorn Hall A Foyer

3:00pm - 4:00pm

Exhibitor-Only Networking Reception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Longhorn Hall BCD

4:15pm - 5:45pm

Exhibit Hall Open (Refreshments Served) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Longhorn Exhibit Hall BCD

6:00pm - 7:30pm

SPECS 2022 Welcome Reception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tate Ballroom B-C

MONDAY, MARCH 21 7:30am - 8:00am

Networking Breakfast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tate Ballroom B-C

8:00am - 9:00am

Keynote Address – Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Five-time NBA champion, Hall of Famer and influential investor, Magic Johnson Enterprises . . . . . . . . Tate Ballroom B-C

9:15am - 10:30am

THE MAIN STAGE presentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Tate 1-5

9:20am - 11:00am

Face2Face: Retailer/Exhibitor Information Exchange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Longhorn Exhibit Hall A

11:00am - 2:00pm

Exhibit Hall Open - Lunch (12:00pm - 1:00pm) & Refreshments Served . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Longhorn Exhibit Hall BCD

Texoma 2

WHAT’S TRENDING

STORE EXPERIENCES

REAL ESTATE

High Plains 2-3

Escondido 1-2

Texoma 3

2:20pm - 3:10pm

RCA: How to Keep Projects on Schedule When Dealing with Labor, Materials Shortages and Construction Supply Chains

Utilities Cost Mitigation

Construction Innovation: What’s Next?

Designing Today’s Sensory Retail Experience

Changing Spaces & Places

3:20pm - 4:10pm

New Trends in Sustainability: Design, Construction & Operations

Meeting Air Filtration Needs While Managing Costs

EV Charging Stations

Trends in Immersive Experiences

Prime Potential in the Parking Lot

4:20pm - 5:10pm

Current Construction Materials Constraints

Facilities Risk Management Checklist

The Latest Best Practices in Negotiation

A Step Inside the Retail Experience

—

TRACKS

CONSTRUCTION High Plains 1

FACILITIES

5:30pm - 6:30pm

Women in Retail Networking Reception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tate 3

6:30pm - 8:00pm

SPECS 2022 Evening Reception . . . . . . . . . . . . Tate Ballroom B-C

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TUESDAY, MARCH 22 7:30am - 8:05am

Networking Breakfast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tate Ballroom B-C

8:05am - 8:20am

Breakout Retailers Awards Presentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tate Ballroom B-C

8:20am - 9:20am

Keynote Address – Ken Gronbach, Leading Demographer and Futurist . . . . Tate Ballroom B-C

9:30am - 10:45am

THE MAIN STAGE presentation: Meet the Breakout Retailers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Tate 1-5

9:45am - 11:25am

Face2Face: Retailer/Exhibitor Information Exchange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Longhorn Exhibit Hall A

11:30am - 2:00pm

Exhibit Hall Open - Lunch (12:00pm - 1:00pm) & Refreshments Served . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Longhorn Exhibit Hall BCD

TRACKS

CONSTRUCTION High Plains 1

FACILITIES Texoma 2

2:20pm - 3:10pm

Designing and Building QSRs Planning Ahead: How to Meet Mobile & Curbside Technology Can Drive the Value Pickup Demand of Preventive Maintenance

3:20pm - 4:10pm

Space Utilization: Conversion from Retail to Fulfillment & Co-Occupancy

Title 24 Update: What Does it Mean for Retailers?

WHAT’S TRENDING

STORE EXPERIENCES

REAL ESTATE

Escondido 1-2

Texoma 3

Location Strategies: Insights into Operating in Independent Locations

Women in Retail

Top Five Adaptive Design Trends

New Trends in Renewable Energy

Training the Next-Gen of Construction Professionals

—

High Plains 2-3

3:30pm - 4:00pm

Exhibitor Wrap-up Meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tate 1-2

4:15pm - 4:45pm

Retailer Wrap-up Meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tate 4-5

6:30pm - 10:00pm

SPECS 2022 Appreciation Party . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Glass Cactus at Gaylord Texan

CHAINSTOREAGE.COM

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EXHIBITORS

BOOTH

1-800-GOT-JUNK? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .919 AAFM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .801 Academy Fire Life Safety, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . .618 Academy Locksmith & Security . . . . . . . . . . .315 Accruent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104 Addilan Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .203 All County Paving National . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .414 All Out Parking Lots. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .231 Ameritech Facility Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . .521 Anchor Sign, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .513 Apex Imaging Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .500 ARDEX Americas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .815 Atlas Sign Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .724 BASTEEL Perimeter Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . .103 Benchmark Group, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .603 Benjamin Moore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .700 BigRentz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .909 BlueSky Paving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .427 Bosch Security and Safety Systems . . . . . . .921 BOSS Facility Services, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .907 Boston Retail Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .501 Branded Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .426 BrandPoint Boston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .902 BrandPoint Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .900 Brighter Image, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .625 Carpenter Contractor Trust (CCT) . . . . . . . . .224 CASE FMS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .218 CD Maintenance Company, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . .530 Century 360° . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .601 Cleanable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .431 Cleaning Services Group, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . .930 CleanLife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .903 CLM Specialty Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . .531 CMS Nextech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .507 Construction Specialties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .818 Cummings Signs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .901 Cushman & Wakefield Facility Solutions . . .401 Discount Waste, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .607 Divisions Maintenance Group. . . . . . . . . . . . .116 Duraflex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .927 DuraSense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .925 DuraServ Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .924 EarthCam, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .300

EXHIBITORS

BOOTH

Ecotrak Facility Management Software . . .110 EMCOR Facilities Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .412 Entera Branding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .508 Enterprise Signs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .424 Excel Dryer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .702 Exposed Floor Design Group LLC. . . . . . . . . .918 Ezzi Signs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .627 Ferrandino & Son, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .425 FlexPost, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .219 Floor & Decor Commercial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .615 Freshco Retail Maintenance, Inc.. . . . . . . . . .306 Genesis Lighting Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106 Global Facility Management & Construction . .418 Graves Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .726 H.J. Martin and Son . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .612 Hawaii Unified Industries, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . .327 Herc Rentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .806 HFA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .706 IKIO LED Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .931 Image Manufacturing Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . .920 Image National Signs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .519 Image One Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .714 Inpro. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .620 Inside Edge Commercial Interior Services . .319 KBS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .813 KFM247 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .525 Lakeview Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .906 Lennox Commercial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .307 Let’s Pave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .407 MaintenX International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .506 Milliken Floor Covering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119 MMI Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .731 MOORING Construction + Restoration . . . .707 National Distribution Service . . . . . . . . . . . . .430 NIGHTFIXX ~ a division of ASG . . . . . . . . . . . .825 N-STORE Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .624 On Target Maintenance, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .709 Paramount Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .400 Permit Place . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .325 Persona - Triangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .212 Philadelphia Sign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .313 Pivotal Retail Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .827 PLASKOLITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .202

EXHIBITORS

BOOTH

PODS ENT LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101 Powered Aire Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .914 PPG Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .331 Principal LED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .409 Professional Retail Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . .613 Progressive Flooring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .200 Project Frog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .630 Projectmates by Systemates, Inc.. . . . . . . . .301 Randal Retail Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .318 Regency Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113 Retail Contractors Association (RCA) . . . . . .719 Rick Shipman Construction, Inc. . . . . . . . . . .715 Roll-A-Shade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .831 RoofConnect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .201 Roseburg Forest Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .221 Rubicon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .524 Salzer Products LLC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .619 Scout Services Permit Expediters . . . . . . . . .631 SDI :: The Digital Supply Chain Company. . .527 ServiceChannel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .730 Sevan Multi-Site Solutions, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . .721 Shields FM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .912 SMS Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .207 SpaceLinks Enterprises, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .913 Springwise Facility Management . . . . . . . . .303 Stantec Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .803 State Permits, Inc - Permit.com . . . . . . . . . .908 Steritech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .230 Stratus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .600 Tarkett . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .413 Thoreau Facility Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130 Total Restroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .330 Trileaf Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .526 Trinity National Accounts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121 TrueLook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .819 W Services Group, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .807 Walker Property Services, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . .308 Window Film Depot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .812 ZipWall Dust Barrier System . . . . . . . . . . . . .712

MARK YOR CALENDAR

MARCH 19-21, 2023

Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center | Grapevine, TX

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CHAIN STORE AGE -FAST SAFE EFFICIENT 2/3_AD 2/18/21 2:34 PM Page 1

StoreSpaces e-newsletter The only industry newsletter dedicated to store planning & design, construction, and facilities management.

Get the latest news on retailers’ expansion and remodeling programs, new store prototypes, green initiatives, facilities updates and more. Find out who’s opening stores and where.

CSA StoreSpaces covers retail development and facilities management inside and out.

ADVANCE DOCK LIFTS ARE FAST, SAFE, EFFICIENT & VERSATILE DOCK LIFTS VERSUS NOTHING: Unloading trucks without any equipment is very slow and puts dock personnel at risk for shoulder, back and metatarsal injuries. Also, goods may be damaged.

DOCK LIFTS VERSUS CONVEYOR UNLOADING: Conveyor unloading is 2 to 3 times slower than using a dock lift. It leaves personnel at risk of shoulder, back and metatarsal injuries and goods are at risk.

DOCK LIFTS VERSUS TRUCK TAILGATES: Tailgates and their maintenance are more expensive than dock lifts. Tailgates reduce truck payload and increase vehicle wear. Tailgate platforms are smaller and do not offer handrail protection available on dock lifts, more risk for operators and cargo.

DOCK LIFTS VERSUS DOCK LEVELERS: Dock levelers can only serve a limited range of truck heights (usually 8”) so they cannot serve all size trucks. An Advance dock lift can service any size truck without limitations.

AdvAnce Lifts

Sign up TODAY! www.chainstoreage. com/register

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offers:

The most recessed dock lift models.

The most top of ground dock lift models.

Coast to coast turn key service.

That is why Advance Lifts has been the #1 dock lift builder in the country for more than 40 years.

1-800-THE-DOCK (800-843-3625) advancelifts.com

3/4/22 1:49 PM

STORE SPACES Q & A

Restroom Design Evolution Scott Krueger is director of strategic operations for Total Restroom.

With cleanliness a top priority of customers, restrooms in retail stores and restaurants are increasingly touchless and, in some instances, more private. Total Restroom’s Scott Krueger spoke with Chain Store Age about restroom trends and what’s coming next.

What has been the overall impact of COVID-19 on retail restrooms?

The primary impact has been to accelerate the implementation of touchless fixtures. Now more than ever, restroom users are concerned about the cleanliness of the space and what their possible exposure might be as a result. Customers don’t want to touch manual flush valves, soap dispensers, faucets, hand dryers or paper towel dispensers.

We’ve seen a significant increase in brands that have come to us stating that they have a “mostly touchless” restroom but need to replace their manual flush valves or soap dispensers in order to complete the experience. Even though the upgrade carries an initial cost, the silver lining is that brands can better control the resource consumption in the restroom and realize ongoing savings from metered fixtures in a short amount of time.

What are some specific trends?

In addition to the implementation of a more complete touchless restroom, we’re seeing increased interest in two areas. For bathroom stalls we’re seeing a big movement towards offering additional privacy.

The major manufacturers have created extra height partitions that provide more screening, along with continuous mounting brackets and angled door edges that further reduce or eliminate site lines.

We are also seeing that the “connected” restroom has been generating interest.

While the technology is still in the earlier phases, it will eventually provide facility managers with real-time data so they can ensure that flush valves are operational, faucets are working and soap dispensers are stocked.

Have there been any changes with regards to material types or finishes preferences?

It’s probably a little early to call it a trend, but some manufacturers have recently expanded the finishes available for fixtures such as faucets, dispensers, receptacles, mirrors and grab bars.

In addition to the standard chrome and stainless steel, brands can now utilize brass, copper, bronze and black finishes to create a more unique restroom design. We’re very excited about these additions because a small change to the finish of select products can have a tremendous impact on the overall appearance of the space.

How can Total Restroom help retailers respond to customers’ safety concerns with regards to COVID and restrooms?

The biggest impact that our experts can make is in the product selection phase of the project. Our team works with products from all the manufacturers and receives daily feedback from contractors, installers, building owners, facility managers and end users.

We can help your team identify the right products for use across all your locations — choosing the HEPA filter version of the hand dryer or the touchless soap dispenser to pair with an automatic faucet.

What services does Total Restroom offer?

Total Restroom works directly with brands and their contractors to provide restroom packages, repair parts, and replenishments through a streamlined purchasing and delivery process. We’re there from design through delivery, helping your team finish the job on time and on budget.

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How does the company differentiate itself in the marketplace?

Total Restroom differentiates itself in two ways. The first is through our expertise.

The restroom may seem simple, but it’s incredibly technical and product options are endless. We’ve worked with over 100,000 customers comprised of global corporations, national retailers, government agencies, small businesses and more, and that experience provides great insight for our future clients.

Whether it’s with layouts, product selection, or logistics coordination across numerous locations, our team features expertise in a material sourcing partner.

The second point is the depth of our offering. By working with all the manufacturers, we don’t push our clients towards one manufacturer or a limited choice of materials because that’s all we can provide.

Our suggestions prioritize the specific needs of your project.

What are some of the most common mistakes that retailers make when planning for restrooms?

One of the most common mistakes, and perhaps the biggest, is the failure to see just how important customers consider the restroom to be. Year after year, customer surveys show that the restroom experience is as important as the dining experience or the store décor.

Restrooms are more than a requirement for occupancy, and customers state that their restroom experience at your store plays a role in the decision to be a repeat customer.

Our advice when we’re in the design phase of the project is to carefully consider customer expectations because those are often overlooked in favor of cost considerations or what product looks better on a particular wall.

MARCH/APRIL 2022

CHAINSTOREAGE.COM

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3/4/22 1:50 PM

SHOP TALK

Savage X Fenty, Fashion Show, Las Vegas

TRENDING STORES: Savage X Fenty, the billiondollar online lingerie brand of pop superstar and fashion and beauty mogul Rihanna has landed at the mall. The first permanent Savage X Fenty store, at Fashion Show in Las Vegas, has a futuristic nightclub look and feel, and is awash in neon lighting in fuchsia, emerald, purple and sapphire hues. The chrome and lavender mannequins span a diverse range of body types, reflecting the brand’s inclusive positioning. New AI technology from Fit:Match helps customers to finding perfect-fitting lingerie. Savage X Fenty has also opened at Westfield Culver City, Culver City, Calif., with additional locations in the works for

Houston, King of Prussia, Pa., and Arlington, Va. … Rhone has opened a 1,300-sq.-ft. outpost at Westfield Century City, in Los Angeles. It’s the up-and-coming men’s performance activewear brand’s seventh store to date, including four locations in New York City, one in Boston and one at Fashion Island, Newport Beach, Calif. The space features an inviting, open floor plan, with crisp, modern design elements. … Paris Baguette is giving itself a brand makeover. The fast-growing, French-inspired neighborhood bakery café unveiled a reimagined store and customer experience as it ramps up for major expansion. With more than 90 U.S. locations, primarily on the East and West coasts, Paris Baguette is looking to have 1,000 locations by 2030. The interior dining spaces and murals will be customized with images of local landmarks. … Lowe’s and Petco Health and Wellness Company are partnering to pilot in-store Petco shops inside Lowe’s stores, with 15 locations opening in Texas, North Carolina, and South Carolina by the end of March. Staffed by Petco employees during peak hours, the branded in-store shops will have a “pets welcome” atmosphere and offer a curated assortment of pet nutrition and health and wellness supplies.

Pet services such as Vetco vaccination clinics, microchipping, prescription pest prevention and mobile grooming will be available at select times and locations.

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COMING ATTRACTIONS: Amazon is adapting its Amazon Go checkout-free convenience concept for suburban locations. The new format, which will average 6,150 sq. ft. (with 3,240 sq. ft. devoted to the sales floor), will debut in Mill Creek, Wash., and in the Los Angelesmetro area. It will feature the company’s “Just Walk Out’ technology and an assortment that includes to pick up grab-and-go food, snacks, beverage items and some everyday essentials along with beer and wine. … Five Below will open a 10,000-sq.-ft. flagship at E*Walk, the renovated retail and entertainment center on 42nd Street in Manhattan. Target is opening a small-format store in the same complex. … The rollout of in-store Sephora shops at Kohl’s is accelerating. The department store retailer plans to add 400 Sephora at Kohl’s shops in 2022, with the locations spanning 36 states. As of February, there were roughly 200 Sephora at Kohl’s locations, with a goal of 850 shops by 2023.

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STORE SPACES

Construction Technologies to Watch

Ten tech innovations to keep an eye on

By Marianne Wilson Technology is transforming every aspect of commercial construction, from project planning and improved collaboration to increased productivity and on-the-job safety.

Here is an overview of 10 construction technologies to watch in 2022 — and beyond — from BigRentz, the nation’s largest equipment rental marketplace.

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Augmented reality: Augemented reality (AR) is a digital layer of information that enhances a view of the real world. By using a mobile device with AR capabilities, construction professionals can look at a job site with additional information laid directly on top of the picture.

For example, a construction worker could point a tablet at a wall, and the tablet could display the building plans for that wall as if they were part of the physical environment. Augmented reality has huge implications for construction because it provides additional information exactly where it’s needed.

Here are a few other uses for augmented reality.

Automate measurements: By measuring a physical space in real time, AR technology can help construction workers accurately follow building plans.

Visualize modifications: By layering potential project modifications directly onto the job site, contractors can visualize potential changes before committing to them.

Provide safety information: By recognizing hazards in the environment, augmented reality devices can display real-time safety information to workers.

While augmented reality can be used on a tablet or other portable computer,

the future of augmented reality will likely rely on AR glasses, which would enable hands-free access to crucial information at all times.

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Construction Wearables: Construction wearables offer numerous benefits for productivity, but they may succeed in rapid adoption especially because of their safety advantages.

Here are a few advantages that are already available: Smart boots: Powered by walking, smart boots can detect workers at risk of a collision with nearby construction vehicles equipped with sensors.

Smart hard hat: By sensing brainwaves, smart hard hats can detect “microsleeps,” which put workers at risk of injury.

Power gloves: When worn on a worker’s hands, power gloves increase dexterity and strength, helping reduce overuse injuries.

Other wearables, like smartwatches, monitors and goggles, improve lone worker safety, check for fatigue and enable contact tracing.

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Construction Exoskeletons: Construction exoskeletons, or exosuits, are wearable machines with motorized joints that provide extra support and power during repetitive movements like bending, lifting and grabbing.

Some exoskeletons are powered by electricity and others simply redistribute weight throughout the body, but all of them have advantages for workers performing tough jobs.

Here are a few examples of exoskeletons being used on construction sites:

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Back support exosuits: This powered suit fits around the shoulders, back and waist and reduces strain during lifting.

Crouch support exosuits: Attached to the legs, a crouch support exoskeleton acts as a “chair” even when no chair is present, making it easier to crouch for long periods of time.

Shoulder support exosuits: By redistributing weight from the shoulders, exoskeletons can prevent fatigue when performing overhead lifting.

There are also full-body construction exoskeletons, which enhance strength and reduce fatigue for difficult lifting jobs.

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Construction Robots: Although construction robots are not yet ready to completely take over the industry, several designs and proposals are on the table as the industry considers ways to deal with labor shortages and the need for social distancing.

Three main types of robots seem positioned to help reshape labor in the construction industry: Factory robots: Factory robots can perfectly and repeatedly perform a single job, like simple manufacturing tasks.

Collaborative robots: Collaborative robots can be used on a job site to ease the burden on a human companion by carrying tools or equipment, for example.

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Fully autonomous robots: Similar to the robots of science fiction, fully autonomous robots (which already exist in some form today) can independentlyscan the environment and perform complex tasks with tools.

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Drones: Drones have already made an impressive contribution to construction, and their influence is set to grow in the coming year.

Small, camera-mounted flying drones can reduce the costs of processes that used to be extraordinarily expensive.

Here are just a few of the ways that drones are making a difference on job sites: Topographic maps: Mapping is vital during the preconstruction phase.

Aerial drones survey large amounts of land quickly, reducing mapping costs by as much as 95%.

Equipment tracking: Purchased or rented equipment can quickly get misplaced on a vast job site, but drones can automatically keep track of all equipment on site.

Security surveillance: Job sites are vulnerable to theft of materials and equipment when no one is working, but drones can monitor a site even when no humans are around.

Drones also have implications for progress reports, personnel safety and building inspections.

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Artificial intelligence (AI)/ Machine Learning: Artificial intelligence (AI) is the ability for technology to make decisions independent of human input, while machine learning is the ability for technology to “learn” from past experiences and big data analysis.

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Both these technologies have massive implications for construction, where efficient and intelligent decision-making has notable effects on productivity and safety.

Some of the ways AI and machine learning are already reshaping construction include: Improved safety: By using machine learning processes, software can analyze job site photos and identify risks and safety violations.

Decreased costs: By analyzing past projects, machine learning software can identify inefficiencies and propose more effective timelines.

Better design: Because machine learning software can learn over time, it can improve building design aspects by exploring hundreds of variations.

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Modular Construction: In modular construction, structures are constructed off-site, delivered in pieces and then assembled by cranes.

Because construction occurs at the same time the site is prepared, modular construction projects can be up to twice as fast as traditional projects.

Other benefits include decreased construction waste and decreased carbon emissions through reduced total deliveries as well as total time spent on site.

While modular construction currently represents a small fraction of the overall industry, two-thirds of contractors believe that it will experience increased demand in the coming year

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3D Printing: Similar to traditional printers, 3D printers take a digital design and render it in the physical world. Unlike traditional printers, however, 3D printers are not limited to a flat document, but can instead use a variety of materials to create objects or even entire structures.

Still in its infancy for large-scale construction projects, 3D printing is likely to influence construction in the following ways: Efficient materials usage: A growing field is invested in printing building materials (like cinder blocks) or entire structures (like bridges) out of

concrete, producing less waste than traditional methods.

Increased speed: Compared to traditional buildings, a 3D-printed structure can emerge in its entirety within a few days.

Eliminating errors: Once a 3D printer receives a design, it renders it perfectly in the physical world, eliminating costly errors.

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Building Information Modeling: Building information modeling is the process of creating a digital representation of a structure (a “model”) before building it. An accurate representation of the building enables everyone involved in the construction to anticipate difficulties, eliminate risk, determine logistics and increase efficiency.

BIM affects and improves every aspect of the construction process.

Before construction, BIM helps reduce the need for future change orders by anticipating challenges.

During construction, BIM improves communication and efficiency by offering a central hub for up-to-date and accurate reference documentation.

After construction, BIM creates the possibility for building management for the structure’s entire life cycle by providing owners with valuable information about every detail of the building.

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Blockchain: Blockchain technology, first used for the online cryptocurrency Bitcoin, is a way of recording information that has broad applications for construction project management. It is an intuitive way to increase project efficiency.

A few aspects of blockchain make it particularly appealing for the construction industry: Secure: All data related to the project is encrypted, so proprietary information stays protected.

Decentralized: Project information is not stored in a single location, and it is accessible from anywhere.

Scalable: Since it doesn’t require a massive data warehouse, blockchain can be scaled to very large projects.

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ON THE LEVEL

Every Wednesday The only industry newsletter dedicated to store planning & design, construction, and facilities management.

On the Road Again

Get the latest news on retailers’ expansion and remodeling programs, new store prototypes, green initiatives, facilities updates and more. Find out who’s opening stores and where.

CSA Store Spaces covers retail development and facilities management inside and out.

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The worst part of the pandemic for me was being unable to leave my desk. My annual practice had been to attend two or three ICSC Deal Making events and then go visit some of the premier retail centers in those regions. It’s hard to fully appreciate the market dynamics of retail centers without visiting them, especially if accompanied by a leader of the company that owns and/or operates it.

One center that I had planned to visit two years ago was the largest mall in my home state of New York and the eighth largest in the country, Destiny USA in Syracuse. The sudden onset of COVID-19 cancelled that trip, but New York dropped its mask mandate in February and I got in my car and headed north, excited to be on the road again, and especially happy to be doing it on Route 17’s magnificently winding route through the Catskill Mountains.

I was a bit surprised when I arrived in the ‘Cuse and my Waze app directed me off an exit in what, when I attended Syracuse University in the ‘70s, was an industrial zone known as Oil City on the south shore of Onondaga Lake. Pyramid founder Bob Congel, I later found out, had long envisioned the spot as perfect for a large urban mall, but Leon Hess, whose huge petroleum tanks resided there, refused to sell any piece of it to him. Hess changed his mind in the late ‘80s and Congel’s Carousel Mall opened in 1990. In 2012, Pyramid made additions that took the square footage to 2.4 million sq. ft. with a heavy focus on adding entertainment venues for people of all ages and the property was renamed Destiny USA.

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Bob Congel passed away at age 85 a year ago. His son Stephen is now Pyramid’s CEO, yet he said that his dad’s spirit is still infused in the property. His aim always was to fill his malls with tenants and attractions that were nonexistent anywhere else in the marketplace—like the grand 19th Century Carousel from which the initial mall took its name and the $50 entertainment “Fun Pass” which folks can purchase in the summer and winter to visit any four of Destiny USA’s 20-plus entertainment venues such as 5 Wits, RPM Raceway, and Apex Entertainment at a savings of up to 50%.

(I know that this old college student and his pals would have been making regular visits to do some bar-hopping there in T-shirts on the many frigid nights in this great old Erie Canal town.)

“A lot more malls are going to close, because most of them have no points of difference,” Steve Congel told us on our visit. “With all our properties, we have always tried to bring in the best retailers and the most unique attractions, in addition to diversified mixed-uses like hospitality and residential, which are key differentiators for Pyramid. One of the biggest achievements we made in recent years was getting the Embassy Suites hotel up onsite at Destiny USA, further cementing its reputation as an international travel and tourism destination.”

Congel’s feeling is that there’s little time left for middling malls to make changes that need to be made. He thinks it’s possible that the U.S. mall count, now about 1,000, could go as low as 300. If he’s right, it’s my bet that Destiny USA will be one of the survivors.

Pyramid long ago began the process of giving people lots more things to do at the mall than shop, things like dine, play, stay, work, and live—something all malls must do now or die.

Al Urbanski aurbanski@chainstoreage.com @AlUrbanski (Twitter)

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COVER STORY

READER SURVEY:

Expansions Gone Wild!

Our poll of retail real estate executives finds half of them expanding and a third of those looking to grow their national profiles by as much as 50%.

By Al Urbanski

The pandemic’s declining, and retail is rising.

Chain Store Age surveyed retail executives in charge of real estate in February and found them energetically engaged in growing their profiles in new sectors of physical retail (including malls, for some) all over the nation.

Nearly half of those surveyed (48%), representing every tenant class from entertainment to apparel and restaurants to fine jewelry said they would be expanding their store counts by at least 10% in 2022. Almost a third of respondents intended to expand their chains by as much as 25%, and 12% of them said they could shoot for growth of 50%.

Just 15% said they would be reducing their store totals in the year ahead.

“While online shopping has spiked due to the pandemic, so has the incidence of customers visiting our stores as a result of visiting us online first,” said survey respondent Mike Brey, the president of Hobby Works. “Employee anecdotes of customers coming in with an item on their phone from our website asking, ‘Where is this?’ have become commonplace.”

Expansion figures to be a rugged route for retailers eager to grow their businesses, however. CBRE’s fourth quarter U.S.

Retail Report noted that available retail space hit a 10-year low and that the new supply of gross leaseable area fell by 59%. That has many retailers fighting for vacant space.

“Good spaces are heavily contested. A lot of direct-to-consumer brands are coming in, and they’ve had that advantage of building their brands online,” said Brandon Isner, head of retail research for the Americas at CBRE. “Space really matters and now retailers have the location intelligence that helps them find the best center on the best corner.”

Patrick Smith, vice chairman of retail at JLL, sees traditional brick-and-mortar brands that long ago built omnichannel presences expanding and winning.

“Land-based retailers that figured out how to create a vibrant DTC channel are doing really well,” Smith Said. “Today’s younger generations are open to omnichannel. My daughters don’t care whether they go to the store or buy online.”

Local intelligence provided by cell phone tower data providers like Placer.ai are able to point retailers to great locations all across the nation, not just in high-growth spots like Texas and

Expansion in 2022

Trying new store formats

Nearly half of expanding retail chains will grow more than 10% in 2022

37% of survey respondents said they’d be be introducing new formats that are…

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Florida. The top three expansion regions named by participants in our survey were the Midwest, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Northeast.

Shopping center tenants have also developed a wider range of the kinds of centers in which their stores can be located. Nearly a quarter of respondents said they would be moving into new types of centers on an almost even basis across the spectrum of retail real estate sectors. New sites being investigated on a fairly even basis across our sample were lifestyle centers, neighborhood centers, mixed-use centers, and malls.

They’re becoming more flexible, too, about their footprints. More than a third (37%) said they were introducing new store formats. Eighteen percent of this group reported going with smaller stores and 14% with larger ones.

What the pandemic hath actually wrought, thinks Bill Wright, a senior managing director at CBRE, is far from what most retailers and their customers thought it would at its outset: Online sales soaring to 50%, empty parking lots at shopping centers, and malls fading into the annals of history.

“The majority of our clients have very

Expansion will reach all regions of the U.S. Percentage of growth-oriented respondents who will be opening new stores in the…

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Midwest Northeast

21%

Mid-Atlantic

21% 20%

Southeast

13%

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aggressive expansion plans over the next five years, but there’s not a lot of supply available in physical retail,” Wright said. “What we realized from the pandemic is how vital the physical store is. DTC taking over? The pandemic proved just the opposite.”

A survey respondent from a company whose direct-to-consumer marketing experience pre-dates the internet agrees.

“Retail is as important as ever, especially as DTC companies look to meet customers anywhere along the path to purchase,” said Abe Schroen, director of retail operations for Omaha Steaks. “Physical retail helps to support the traditional DTC model by increasing fulfillment options, thereby creating a convenient option for the customer based on their needs.”

CoStar: Hard-hit metros due for recovery in 2022 Retail traffic and rents have been rising in Nashville, Salt Lake City, and Jacksonville, but the recovery is taking longer in places like San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Boston.

That’s the diagnosis presented in CoStar Group’s Global Predictions Webinar for 2022, which pictured a steady resumption of Americans shopping, traveling, and working in their offices.

“Cities in the South are having the greatest recoveries. Occupancy rates are high in Orlando and Phoenix. But dense markets like San Francisco and D.C. are still making their way back,” said CoStar senior consultant Kevin Cody.

Here’s how CoStar sees rents developing over the next two years in high and low growth markets:

Strongest Rent Growth Nashville . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Fort Lauderdale . . . . . . .

Las Vegas . . . . . . . . . . . .

Orlando . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Jacksonville . . . . . . . . . . .

Miami . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Weakest Rent Growth +7.8% +7.5% +7.0% +6.5% +6.1% +5.9%

Stamford . . . . . . . . . . -1.4% St. Louis . . . . . . . . . . . +0.4% Boston . . . . . . . . . . . . . +1.9% Milwaukee . . . . . . . . . +2.0% Richmond . . . . . . . . . . +2.1% Pittsburgh . . . . . . . . . +2.3%

Source: CoStar

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KATHLEEN LARMOUR

REAL ESTATE

How medical centers (and other nonretailers) keep retail centers healthy, too Towns and cities cling to the notion that new retail tenants can fill empty anchor spaces—and in almost all instances that is just not true.

By Jeff Green Historically, retail has been an invaluable source of tax revenue and cities and towns have bent over backwards to recruit new retail and keep existing retail in-place. That now needs to change.

The shift toward online shopping has had a monumental effect on brick-and-mortar retail. According to Statista, e-commerce as a percentage of total retail sales in the United States has increased from 6% in 2013 to 15% in 2021. They predict a 19% share by 2024. Further, per Statista, the U.S. leads the world in retail square footage per person at almost 24, followed by Canada (17), and Australia (11). These phenomena together result in a shrinking sales tax revenue base in many U.S. cities most impacted by vacant brick-and-mortar space, struggling shopping centers, and the incremental shift in sales to e-commerce businesses.

The over-stored nature of brick-and-mortar retail in the U.S. requires that municipalities look beyond retail for other uses to substitute the loss in retail sales tax revenues with other forms of taxable revenues. However, towns and cities hold on to the notion that new retail can be supported, and in almost all instances that is just not true.

In so many cases the value of a property is not the retail asset; rather, the real estate asset on which retail has been located for decades. Therefore, cities must consider as part an updated master planning process the highest-and-best uses for the real estate where retail is struggling and where retail properties are vacant.

Additional demand components from non-retail uses can strengthen the underlying value of the real estate and create a more vibrant community center from a smaller retail footprint.

For example, incorporating multi-family residential, medical, or a new public library into a thoughtfully designed master plan for a struggling shopping center can strengthen the remaining market-viable retail--especially grocery, food and beverage, and personal services--by creating a strong sense of place.

The worst-case scenario for a municipality is to have a blighted shopping mall or shopping center property. Blight is the canary-in-the-coal mine to a moribund economy and causes municipalities to lose considerable property tax revenue because of lower assessed commercial and residential property values throughout blighted neighborhoods. Struggling or vacant retail centers are typically run down and do not give a potential developer or resident the perception of vibrancy. A city is then in a difficult position of attracting investment when both the sales tax and property tax base erode. Therefore, it is important for communities to encourage new commercial and residential uses way before properties become blighted.

Examples abound of developers and municipalities waiting 34

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Medical centers create a constant flow of new customers in retail centers.

too long to revive blighted centers with retail tenants only.

One such example of looking beyond a retail-only redevelopment is Hilltop Mall in Richmond, CA, a suburb of Oakland.

Opened in 1976 and developed by The Taubman Company, this 1.1 million-sq.-ft. mall lost nearly all its tenants (except for a Walmart) yet was slated to be redeveloped in its existing format.

Several years later, the mall was sold to Prologis to be developed as a technological innovation center. Other examples: • Oakview Mall in Omaha, a 1.1-million-sq.-ft. center is significantly declining as a retail asset and no plans are in place to redevelop the center into a mixed-use asset.

• Montclair Place, a 1.2-million-sq.-ft. center center in Montclair, Calif., continues to lose retail tenants, yet it is an excellent site for various non-retail uses.

• Elyria Mall in Elyria, Ohio, is a highly distressed and blighted mall where the real estate asset has other, longer-term sustainable uses given its location at the confluence of two interstate highways There are also many examples of distressed malls on excellent pieces of real estate that are being redeveloped to incorporate other uses. For example, Paradise Valley Mall in Phoenix, a former Macerich mall, was in significant decline. Costco had been added to the mall, yet traffic to the balance of the center was declining. Phoenix-based RED Development recently purchased the mall and has quickly demolished almost all of it except for J.C. Penney and Costco. Plans call for a smaller mix of convenience and grocery retail and restaurants as well as residential, entertainment, office and self-storage uses.

Municipalities need to be thinking long-term about the highest and best uses for distressed retail properties and working with ownership to redevelop those properties into community assets.

The sooner the better.

Jeff Green, a partner at Hoffman Strategy Group, provides analytical and interpretive services for retailers, property owners, developers, and municipalities.

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TECH VIEWPOINT

Every Tuesday

The ‘store of the future’ — here today

The premier newsletter showcasing technology and multi-channel, seamless retailing.

The “store of the future” is nothing more than a current store format with the latest innovations.

Despite some dire predictions, the brickand-mortar store has not been eliminated

by COVID-19. However, physical retail is evolving in response to changes in consumer behavior which have been accelerated by two years of the pandemic.

Observers often call a store equipped with the latest technology the “store of the future.”

More accurately, it is a leading-edge store of today. Whatever you call it, here are some of the key technologies supporting the latest “future stores.”

From e-commerce and mobility to in-store technology and social media, Connected Retail keeps retail executives in the know about the fast-paced, ever-evolving world of retail tech.

Sign up TODAY! www.chainstoreage.com/register

Frictionless Many convenience and grocery retailers have piloted frictionless stores since Amazon pioneered the format with its cashier-free Amazon Go store model in January 2018. Frictionless stores feature a “just walk out shopping experience” that is typically enabled with a consumer app and some combination of computer vision, sensor fusion, and machine-learning technologies.

For example, convenience chain Circle K has been active in retrofitting existing stores in Arizona with frictionless shopping solutions. In October 2021, Circle K began offering an artificial intelligence (AI)-based, fully checkout-free shopping experience in a Tempe, Ariz., store.

Circle K partnered with retail computer vision platform provider Standard AI to open its retrofitted Tempe location, allowing shoppers to completely avoid waiting in a checkout line and deliver accurate receipts in minutes. The convenience retailer has also retrofitted six existing stores in the greater Tucson, Ariz. Area, with checkout-free technology from Grabango.

The best of both worlds Amazon’s latest store concept responds to the increasing blurring of distinctions between

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digital and physical channels (at least in the perception of shoppers) by combining the personalization of e-commerce with the immediacy of brick-and-mortar shopping.

The first Amazon Style store will open later this year year at The Americana at Brand, a lifestyle center in Glendale, Calif. The store’s assortment of apparel, shoes and accessories will feature “hundreds of brands” according to Amazon.

Using the Amazon Shopping app, customers will scan an item’s QR code to see sizes, colors, overall customer ratings and additional product details. With the tap of a button, shoppers can have the item brought to a fitting room. If the customer doesn’t want to try it on, the item can be sent directly to the pickup counter.

Customers can continue shopping in the fitting rooms, which have touchscreens. As customers browse the store and scan items, Amazon will leverage its machine learning algorithms to recommend tailored, realtime suggestions regarding other items.

The return journey Stores have commonly been serving as online order pickup points for several years now, with the trend accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a further step of the evolution of the brick-and-mortar store as an omnichannel hub, it is increasingly serving as a node for returns of online orders, as well.

In addition to easing the return process for customers, retailers can reduce the cost of returns management by collecting returned items in centralized locations for bulk processing and distribution — with some items potentially going directly to the store shelf.

While accepting online returns in-store is complicated, a number of third-party platforms exist to help retailers streamline the process. For example, Mall of America has a partnership with Narvar that enables easy drop-off returns for brands including Gap, Old Navy, Athleta and Banana Republic.

Consumers are provided with a shortcode to bring with their package to one of three locations at the mall, where an associate will print their return label for them and ensure the package is sent back to the retailer.

Dan Berthiaume dberthiaume@chainstoreage.com MARCH/APRIL 2022

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TECH

Metaverse Insight The next gen of the web will be 3D

By Dan Berthiaume

Neha Singh is the founder and CEO of Obsess.

For Neha Singh, founder and CEO of augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) shopping platform Obsess, the metaverse is not a new concept.

Singh, who was honored as a Startup Innovator in the 2021 Chain Store Age Top Women in Retail Tech awards, recently shared her views of and experiences in metaverse retailing. In the metaverse, consumers use augmented and virtual reality technology to digitally engage with each other and their surroundings, with crossovers into the physical world.

“The next generation of the web is 3D,” said Singh who, in 2019, launched Obsess as an online shopping destination that functions similar to a virtual mall. Each virtual store features photorealistic images of products created using computer generated imagery (CGI).

The Obsess website is built with proprietary technology that uses web-based virtual reality to make 3D 360 shopping experiences available on mobile devices.

The company also supports AR/VR commerce initiatives of companies such as beauty products brand Charlotte Tilbury.

“The e-commerce interface hasn’t really changed,” explained Singh. “It needs to evolve — e-commerce still looks like late 1990s. All the sites are basically the same in how they arrange brand, product, category, attribute and presentation. With a physical store, you get a different feeling in every store.”

Singh initially got the idea for Obsess while heading up product and engineering for an online marketplace startup.

She ran into the issue of the uniformity of the e-commerce experience when she was tasked with building a website that CHAINSTOREAGE.COM

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would create different experiences for different platforms.

“The templates were all the same,” recalled Singh. “No matter what e-commerce template you used, it had the same basic standard interface which you had to customize on your own.”

After trying an early pre-release version of the Oculus VR headset, Singh had an epiphany.

“I said, ‘this is how customers shop,’” she noted. “But they don’t always have time to go to the store. It was clear to me that it mattered for a brand’s digital shopping experience to be unique.”

Singh began working on what would eventually become the Obsess platform after leaving a position as head of product for Vogue in 2016.

“For the first couple of years, I built headsets,” she noted. “Five years ago was too early for the Web-based VR platforms we see today. Now we have fast network speeds, rich graphics, and mobile support for much richer processing.”

Using third-party metaverse platforms In addition to custom-building their own metaverse platforms, retailers have the option of launching digital commerce operations in an existing environment. Popular virtual gaming platforms, such as Roblox and Fortnite, are starting to see retailers open digital stores. Singh has advice for retailers considering this approach.

“I’d advise to do more than a twoday pop-up,” she said. “People are on metaverse sites more than social media sites. Roblox has 45 million daily users,

averaging 2.5 hours of use per day. It’s important to have a presence.”

Although Singh said retailers cannot sell physical goods on virtual gaming platforms, they still serve as valuable brand awareness tools and can still produce sales.

“Virtual goods fashion represents a massive revenue stream,” she explained.

“One in five Roblox users changes at least one virtual accessory every day.

It’s unclear if categories like beauty and home will convert to virtual sales in the same way.”

The year ahead in metaverse retailing Singh sees the recent uptick in metaverse commerce activity as part of a general acceleration in e-commerce growth spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Brands need to upgrade their ecommerce experience,” she said. “Also, since the 2020-2021 period, gaming accelerated 90%. The metaverse provides a huge opportunity to be in front of Gen Z. Retailers are realizing the mainstream metaverse is not far off — permanent changes in consumer behavior will require a permanent presence.

Singh expects 2022 to be a year of “learning and experimenting” as retailers launch experiments and enter the early phases of their metaverse commerce programs.

“Nike has a chief metaverse officer,” she said. “Metaverse sits in the middle of different corporate teams and can be difficult to budget. You can get the first set of experiences and evaluate. Remember that consumers want a fun, intuitive experience. Just be the Internet — don’t say cyberspace.”

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TECH

Mobile Employee Engagement Kroger expands capabilities of training app

By Dan Berthiaume The Kroger Co. is expanding how it leverages its “Fresh Start” employee app and workforce management solution.

Senchal Murphy, senior director of onboarding and training for Kroger, is excited about how the supermarket giant is leveraging solutions from microlearning technology provider Axonify to streamline the hiring, training, engaging and motivating of its nearly 500,000 employees in the ongoing face of disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Getting a ‘Fresh Start’ Internally, Kroger brands its Axonify training solution as the “Fresh Start” employee app. Associates can download the app on their own mobile devices, or also gain access via shared corporate devices.

They are encouraged to log in as soon as they start their shift, and are introduced to Fresh Start during the first day of their onboarding process.

“I’m excited about Fresh Start with Axonify,” said Murphy. “It’s simple and easy, and in the flow of work. Associates enjoy the ability to learn at their pace, with resources at their fingertips when

they need them.”

Especially in the current “Great Resignation”-influenced workforce environment, Fresh Start provides Kroger an advantage in enabling employees to upskill and reskill in the flow of their jobs, according to Murphy.

“Employees can learn and have fun at the same time,” she said. “It’s really exciting for us to embrace technology at different levels of the organization to simplify the associate experience. Simplifying training for associates makes their job better and easier to do, which leads to better recruitment and retention in a time when there are industry wide labor shortages.”

Growth and Change Looking at the evolution of Fresh Start since it launched in 2021, Murphy noted the program is expanding with new capabilities.

“Fresh Start was launched for bite-sized training of the business processes that matter most to Kroger in order to provide a top-notch customer experience,” she said. “We call this, ‘full, friendly and

Burnout Top Reason for Frontline Resignations Nearly 50% of all frontline workers said they are planning to leave their current jobs, according to Axonify’s 5th annual “Global State of Frontline Work Experience Study.” Gen Z workers are the most eager to leave, with 63% planning to quit.

The top reasons cited by more than 2,500 frontline employees surveyed in the U.S., U.K., and Australia for planning to leave are: • Burnout at work (58%); • Lack of appreciation from management and/or peers (53%); • Lack of interest in daily work (52%); and • Poor compensation (52%).

In addition, more than one-third of frontline employees say they only receive training during big job changes like transfers and promotions (36%) and nearly one-quarter reported rarely or never receiving additional training (20%).

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Senchal Murphy, senior director of onboarding and training, The Kroger Co.

fresh.’ Now, we are looking at employee financial, emotional and physical wellbeing, including mental health.”

To this end, Kroger is using the Fresh Start app to provide three-to-five-minute training programs focused on all areas of employee well-being, featuring corporate executives and professional health leaders.

“We are leveraging new and unique ways to train our corporate leaders to be more compassionate,” said Murphy. “It’s part of a renewed effort to ensure our leadership develops broader skills at all levels and takes ownership of the business, including having a passion about our people.”

Looking ahead, Murphy said that this year, Kroger will deploy the Fresh Start solution to focus on training store associates about the “friendly” aspect of its customer experience promise. The company also intends to expand the scope of Fresh Start beyond its retail supermarket division to the supply chain and manufacturing divisions.

“Fresh Start is one of many tools we use,” added Murphy. “We use Microsoft Teams for teleconferencing at stores, sites and plants. We get a whole lot done with more efficient and effective communication.”

Murphy noted some of the accomplishments Kroger has achieved with Fresh Start in its first year of deployment.

“We are closing out the fiscal year with 15 million Fresh Start sessions among 100,000 associates,” she said. “They are engaged in fun, cooperative, team-oriented activities, with gamification challenges and social networking. Kroger sees the value of training to employees’ personal growth and development.”

MARCH/APRIL 2022

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