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By Gary Tasman Black Friday and the year-end shopping season are right around the corner, and 2020 promises to bring changes to the way we shop for our holiday gifts. Retail had already been undergoing a transformation before the COVID-19 crisis reached our shores, and the pandemic will bring both short and long-term implications to the way we shop. Successful businesses will be those who find a way to reimagine the retail experience, and property owners need to understand how these implications affect them. For decades, shopping malls were the primary destination for holiday shoppers, thanks to big-box stores and appearances by Santa Claus. But as consumer preferences and habits have changed, the mall experience has begun to erode. COVID-19 will likely accelerate this attrition, as Americans continue to avoid crowds and indoor gatherings. Deloitte’s 2020 holiday retail survey found that more than 50% of holiday shoppers feel anxious about shopping in stores this year. It would be a mistake, however, to consider brick-and-mortar retail a thing of the past. While the current state will certainly reinforce the popularity of e-commerce, brick-and-mortar retail still has a path to success. For years, successful retailers have adapted to consumer preferences by providing customers with an experience rather than just a mundane shopping trip. From in-store play centers, to celebrity appearances, to hands-on and virtual reality demonstrations, brick-and-mortar retail is evolving into “retailtainment,” sometimes called experiential retail. Ready to make a move ? Get started by contacting us. Personal shoppers, group cooking demonstrations, and custom fittings might seem tone-deaf in the midst of a pandemic, but savvy business owners are already looking ahead to our post-COVID future. Some experiences simply can’t be provided online, and retailers who are prepared to shift their business models to a more experiential paradigm are more likely to weather the storm. After a record year for retail property sales in 2019, retail real estate sales volume has lagged since March. In fact, sales volume in Q2 and Q3 2020 has been lower than we’ve seen in three years. But retail property owners shouldn’t lose hope. While empty retail spaces may be more plentiful now, Cushman & Wakefield’s Chief Economist, Kevin Thorpe, expects retail, and especially experiential concepts, to storm back after COVID-19. “People are pining to go out and shop, eat and be entertained,” explains Thorpe. “Pent-up demand will be unleashed.” It’s not just existing retailers who are buying in to the retailtainment trend. New businesses are already poised to take advantage of this pent-up demand. Consider the early success of Popstroke in Fort Myers, which opened recently to crowds and fanfare despite the pandemic. Popular pre-COVID concepts like painting studios, rage rooms and ax-throwing bars will see a likely resurgence in our post-pandemic future. Even the much-maligned shopping malls are getting in on the action. Forty years ago, malls promoted trendy features like skating rinks and waterparks to draw consumers away from downtown shopping districts. Today, malls like the Edison Mall in Fort Myers are turning to similar tactics, looking towards adaptive reuse to fill vacant space and provide entertainment. Edison Mall will soon be the home of the Southwest Florida Military Museum, a departure from the mall’s traditional retail model. New malls are also providing retailtainment venues. Miami’s planned American Dream mall is expected to host an indoor ski slope, a Ferris wheel, an amusement park, and more. It’s understandable for retail property owners to be frustrated in our current market, but with the proper data and positioning of these properties, retail spaces still hold value. The professionals at Cushman & Wakefield have the research, insights, creativity, and vision to help find the best use for your property and connect you with the buyers who are ready to bring their vision to life. There is no doubt that shoppers will eventually head back to stores for items other than essentials, although with COVID cases spiking across the nation, that shift may not occur in time for this year’s holiday shopping season. “The issue with this recession has not been one of demand, it’s been supply led,” said Cushman & Wakefield Global Futurist Andrew Phipps. “We haven’t had the chance to spend the money we’d like to, as opposed to not having the money to spend.” Even though the 2020 holiday shopping season will continue to see challenges for the brick and mortar retail industry, it’s not time to sound the death knell for retail. Instead, as we inch closer to our post-pandemic future, expect to see the retail market evolve in new and exciting ways. The retailers that will survive will be the ones who anticipate – and invest in — this evolution.

By Gary Tasman Although it may seem as though time has stood still since early March when the COVID-19 pandemic began impacting our region, Southwest Florida has continued to grow. In fact, data from AtoZ Database indicates that nearly 15,000 people have made Southwest Florida their permanent or primary home in the last six months, representing close to 10,000 households. Many of these new residents come via our traditional migration paths. It’s probably no surprise to anyone that about 40% of our area’s newcomers hail from New England, New York, New Jersey, and the upper Midwest. Our sunny and mild winters have been a magnet for transplants from these regions for decades. More surprising, however, is the number of families moving to our region from other parts of the Sunshine State. A full 20% of Southwest Florida’s newest residents hail from areas like Tampa, Orlando, and the state’s bustling east coast. And while northerners move to Southwest Florida for sunshine, fellow Floridians are now flocking to our area for another reason: opportunity. Ready to make a move ? Get started by contacting us. “For decades, the blessing and curse of Southwest Florida has been its distinction as a vacation paradise,” explains Shawn Stoneburner of Cushman & Wakefield Commercial Property Southwest Florida. Tourism and hospitality have been our region’s major economic drivers since the mid-1900s. In good years, the steady flow of tourists to Southwest Florida have kept taxes low and the quality of life high. In other years, our dependence on tourism and hospitality have left us vulnerable as hurricanes, the BP oil spill, and other external factors have stemmed the flow of tourists to our coastal paradise and damaged our region’s economy. Diversifying our economy has been a top priority for our area’s leaders, and that vision for a more varied economy is finally becoming a reality. Today, Southwest Florida is becoming a hotspot for technology, manufacturing and entrepreneurship. Powerhouses Arthrex, NeoGenomics, Gartner, and Alta Resources have expanded their considerable footprints in our area by purchasing property, building facilities and hiring employees, making the region more desirable for other companies to do the same. Growth like this begets more growth, creating a sustainable cycle of economic activity and opportunity. “As businesses move to our area, they lure employees from other parts of the state and across the country,” says Stoneburner. “This influx of new residents creates demand for schools, medical facilities, grocery stores, and other service providers. The construction industry and commercial property owners benefit, and the cycle continues.” Our area will soon see another boost, thanks to the Edison Awards, an international program that honors innovation and brings together hundreds of world-class thought leaders from around the globe for a conference, showcase, and awards program. Fort Myers will be the home of the Edison Awards for at least the next three years, bringing unprecedented exposure to our region. Many of the world’s brightest business minds will converge upon Southwest Florida and will surely see the opportunities that our region presents. Our region’s growth, diversification, and bright future are of great importance to commercial property owners. As new residents flock to Southwest Florida, new businesses are following suit, and their planners are seeking land and existing buildings to stake a claim in Southwest Florida. In turn, the intrinsic value of your property increases. If you own commercial property in our region, now is a great time to sell. If you own a commercial property and want to understand the value it holds, Gary Tasman and Shawn Stoneburner of Cushman & Wakefield Commercial Property Southwest Florida are your go-to team. Their extensive knowledge of Southwest Florida, along with best-in-class data and evidence-based insights, will help position your property to sell for maximum value in minimum time. The landscape of Southwest Florida is changing. Are you ready for it? Cushman & Wakefield Commercial Property Southwest Florida wants to help you take advantage of this opportunity. Contact-us.