SAN FRANCISCO—In preparation for our upcoming RealShare National Investment and Financeconference, held June 24^thin Los Angeles,we exclusively chatted with crowdfunding panelist Adam Hooper on trends in retail and onbuilding a real estate tech company in Silicon Valley. According tothe CEO and founder of the Palo Alto-basedRealCrowd crowdfunding platform, technology isgoing to continue to shape how retailers do business and interactwith customers. “Everything from Amazon's ever expanding webof products and services, including the talk of one day shippingproduct by way of unmanned drones, to their recent increase inprice for their Prime memberships, they are a clear juggernaut inthe world of how technology will impact retail.”

According to Hooper, “They have a singular ability by way oftheir sheer mass to move the market and create, or kill, majortrends. Keep an eye on their developments and don't be surprised ifwe see some interesting models in the near future.”

Beyond Amazon, Hooper tells GlobeSt.com, there are a host ofother companies that are starting to fundamentally disrupt theestablished norms. “One of which, that we use with incrediblefrequency, is Instacart—a grocery on demand service that isexperiencing explosive growth. No longer do we need to go to thestore, wade through isles of choices and fight with the crowds. Login, select your items and they magically appear at your door withinan hour.”