The retail industry is seeing some unique trends rising.

MIAMI—What can we expect from retail in 2017? You haven't heard enough perspectives until you've heard this one. GlobeSt.com caught up with Julie Augustyn, former senior director of Real Estate for Office Depot and current senior vice president at Foundry Commercial, about what retailers can expect in 2017.

1. Grocery anchored neighborhood centers are the fabric of a community: With the rise of e-commerce, she tells GlobeSt.com, there is concern of reduction in brick and mortar retail stores. “We are seeing an increase in grocery anchored shopping centers, ranging in size from smaller grocery stores—ALDI, LIDL, The Fresh Market, Sprouts—to expanding traditional grocers to larger regional grocers, like Wegman's,” she says. Done right, a grocery-anchored center can be a part of the community with local retailers and creates a neighborhood feel that cannot be replaced online.”

2. Digitally native vertical brands will continue opening brick and mortar locations: Augustyn says Bonobos and Warby Parker are leading examples of online pure play stores that are continuing to expand their physical stores.

3. Pop-up stores continue popularity: As Augustyn sees it, this trend is visible with companies like Birchbox, and brands can stand to benefit from this retail marketing tactic. “The recent Birchbox NYC popup, for example, led to a new permanent store,” she says. “Also, Birchbox previously ran a marketing campaign online that let fans vote for which cities they should bring their Birchbox road trip pop up stores, which is a testament to how technology is becoming a necessary part of the retail process.”

4. Stores within store concepts: Augustyn says JC Penney's has seen success with its Sephora store-within-store and have announced expansion of that program along with addition of other concepts. “Another example of this move to open store-within-store is Rent The Runway's opening inside select Neiman Marcus stores,” she says. “This allows Rent the Runway to add additional outlets outside their current six freestanding stores and drives traffic to Neiman Marcus—a win-win situation. For brands, this tactic allows for a quicker physical footprint expansion at a lower cost.”

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Former Office Depot Exec Shares Four Key Retail Trends

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