NEW YORK CITY—"Technology has changed the way retailers approach their customers in the physical space." That is according to locally based Gene Spiegelman, vice chairman and head of North America Retail Services for Cushman & Wakefield.
More than ever, he tells GlobeSt.com, today's consumers are using tablets, smart phones, and social media to inform and guide their purchasing power.
"The retailers most successful at adapting to this shift have employed multi-faceted marketing strategies that combine the aesthetic appeal of a well-designed bricks-and-mortar space with interactive digital media campaigns and easy-to-navigate mobile shopping apps that facilitate multiple points of interaction between the brand and its customers."
And as part of GlobeSt.com's recent 15th anniversary, Spiegelman told GlobeSt.com that another thing happening in retail today is retailers rethinking existing lease arrangements. "Big box stores are turning from the suburbs and toward city centers, but in searching for suitable urban space, they must often contend with cumbersome permit processes, municipal approvals, and, in some cases, issues relating to historic building designations."
Those retailers are also forced to reconsider how to get their products to market in an urban environment, leading many to implement vertical distribution strategies, he said. "In particular, this is where we see the ever-merging concept of 'bricks & clicks' as consumers utilize the physical space as a showroom to explore the tangible world not available in cyberspace."
This shopping habit in particular, Spiegelman previously told GlobeSt.com, leads to purchase decisions that may ultimately be made via a "click", but may also result in a trip to the "brick" as consumers are "quickly embracing the concept to purchase online and pick up the purchase at the store."
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Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
