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MY PREFERENCE?

THE DAY I FOUND OUT MY MOTHER WAS THE TOOT FAIRY

IVAN FRIEDMAN ifriedman@rcsrealestate.com

Ivan Friedman is the President and CEO of RCS Real Estate Advisors.

CovId-19 reWrote the rules of retail, but, in reality, those “rules” were already being rewritten. Now, as to the age-old question “What’s next?”, we are looking both backward and forward to define the impact of all the events of the last 18 months on retail, retailing and retail real estate. The answers and the impact on U.S. consumers and consumption are wide-ranging and somewhat surprising given the ongoing impact of COVID on everyday life.

WHAT’S NEXT: MORE CLOSURES OR STORE OPENINGS?

Prior to 2020, many retailers acknowledged they were overstored in North America, driven in part by the glut of retail and the availability of capital driving growth and expansion. The rise of online shopping was seen as an opportunity and a risk, generally less than 20% of total sales and a subordinate part of the business to stores.

Of course, that has all changed from the online business dramatically evolving with greatly improved transactional fluidity to the consumers’ confidence in purchasing online. The results for online sales were sensational for most retailers.

Today, we see business at stores rebounding at a faster pace than many expected due to pent up demand, government stimulus and now nearly full employment