NEW YORK CITY—For commercial real estate, the future is all about disruption. So says Deloitte in its 17th annual Commercial Real Estate Outlook, which cites trends in other industries that will transform CRE over the next decade.

“We are seeing the emergence of a number of dynamics that have great potential to fundamentally change the commercial real estate business over the next decade,” says Bob O'Brien, global and US leader of Deloitte's real estate practice and a partner with Deloitte & Touche LLP. “Market disruptors in technology, ranging from the Internet of Things to artificial intelligence, have primed the sector for some of the most important shifts in its history.” Accordingly, he says, industry leaders need to think about “the longer-term strategic issues at play and how they can stay ahead of the impacts.”

Deloitte's report highlights four predictions about the ways in which disruptors will shape the industry between now and 2025. These include:

• The collaborative economy will reshape CRE demand and use. “Growth in the collaborative economy will increasingly spill over into CRE, creating a variety of new challenges for traditional players and incumbents,” according to Deloitte. “Redefinitions of commercial space usage and fluid design will emerge as players look to compete against the expansion of online marketplaces and fulfill the demand-based needs of tenants. Simultaneously, dynamic revenue models will replace existing business models as players move to capitalize on the burgeoning short-term leasing phenomenon.”

• Technology will disintermediate brokerage and leasing. Deloitte sees these two businesses becoming disintermediated as direct-to-consumer innovation in the sector continues to challenge market players to evolve. “It will become critical for companies to develop new service models and non-brokerage revenue sources—centered around central client relationship management, artificial intelligence and cognitive technologies—in order order to adapt to market demands for data ubiquity and transparency and accommodate shifting tenant expectations,” Deloitte says. “A spike in global consolidation may be observed as traditional players acquire companies to achieve additional capabilities and scale, or as smaller firms find it unviable to remain in business.”

• The war for talent will revolutionize demand for office and mixed-use properties. “The growing talent gap and evolution in the talent marketplace will have a significant impact on where CRE is located and the way it is designed and used,” Deloitte predicts. The firm predicts that talent dynamics will become an integral factor in location-based decision-making and development projects, especially office. “The robust millennial workforce and its unique demands for a varied employment experience will lead to the dominance of mixed-use spaces that include office, residence, and recreation options over standalone properties.”

• Consumer preferences will blur the lines between retail and industrial properties. Consumer preferences for on-demand and same-day delivery, along with technology innovations in areas such as 3-D printing, will “significantly impact the location and use of retail and industrial properties,” according to Deloitte. “On-demand retailing and manufacturing will reduce inventory holding and demand for large warehouse spaces, while leading to the rise of inventory optimization technology; smaller, local distribution centers will become the norm; and flexible store formats will emerge to adjust to changing consumer expectations and advances in technology.”