Retailers Cannot Venture On Without Data Insights

NEW YORK CITY – Data has become more important than ever for retail investors trying to compete and remain relevant amid changing consumer demands for brick and mortar and e-commerce shopping platforms, Meghann Martindale, CBRE’s global head of retail research, tells GlobeSt.com.

The commercial real estate services firm is actively bulking up its retail research to provide information to its brokers and clients about trade areas, asset types, and market exposure to optimize their position and operations in the changing market, Martindale said.

“Retail assets are far more complex in today’s landscape.  Investors and occupiers alike must understand traditional evaluations such as how their sites fit into the trade area, competition, and how to maximize shopper traffic and sales,” Martindale said.

With the data collected, retailers have to apply the insights to maintain and bring in new customers and adapt as needed as the sector innovates if they want to maintain cash flows, according to Martindale. “They now must also understand where they lie along the supply chain and what the ongoing shifts in the omnichannel and digital world mean to their brand and the consumer experience in order to remain relevant and productive,” she said.

The retail sector has realized it must create an overall environment that supports its sales and that includes property technology and data analytics, Lee Menifee, head of Americas Investment Research at PGIM Real Estate, told GlobeSt.com in a recent article. “The winners and losers will shake out depending on how well capitalized they are and how much expertise they have,” he said. “It’s still early stages but even what we are seeing now reinforces the need to invest in technology that allows you to operate a property better and more efficiently.”