LOS ANGELES—Smart retailers are realizing that consumers do their research online before entering the store, so they're tweaking their digital and physical sales processes to provide a more efficient experience for both the retailer and the consumer, Matthews Retail Group's Chairman and CEO Kyle Matthews tells GlobeSt.com. We spoke with Matthews exclusively about brick-and-mortar leasing trends as well as creative ways retailers are using omni-channel retailing to increase sales.

GlobeSt.com: How do you explain increased brick-and-mortar leasing at a time when so many retailers are scaling back their physical stores?

Matthews: You have an improving economy, cheap debt and an overall lack of new development coming out of the recession. All of these factors serve to increase retailers' brick-and-mortar presence. Retailers are reinventing themselves in omni-channel retailing. Also, available large big-box space is being taken up by retailers serving specific demographic groups.