Net Lease Recalibrates Traditional Space Needs

Capital One has developed the concept of a Capital One Café, allowing people with a Capital One account to come in and work, relax, or hangout similar to a coffee shop layout.

Jon Hipp

As we move forward into 2020, retailers have to keep up with trends and new ideas to continually draw consumers in and spend money. These new, creative solutions are not limited to just one sector as we are seeing big-box stores, banks, etc. come up with different tactics to employ. In the future more and more retail locations will continue expanding off this and keep coming up with interesting ways to drive in foot traffic.

In the big box sector, one example is the retailer Restoration Hardware, or as it is called now, RH. Known for selling furniture, recently the brand has decided to incorporate a dining space into their stores. In essence, it is creating a hospitality space inside of its retail location. This restaurant space is usually a main feature, not located in the back or off to a side, such as rooftop complete with a bar. This type of expansion could keep customers in the store longer allowing them to look around longer and potentially sway them into a purchase.

Another sector embracing this trend is banks. The setup in a typical branch consists of tellers along with a few offices, but today we can see this changing. Layouts are becoming more open, less teller space is being set up and more offices being incorporated into the space for consultations.

Customers will come in and if they need to make a deposit or withdrawal can use an atm or if they prefer, they can wait to meet with an individual worker . Some banks are even taking this a step further. Capital One has developed the concept of a Capital One Café, allowing people with a Capital One account to come in and work, relax, or hangout similar to a coffee shop layout.

The point of all this is to add value to the store and try and get customers to spend as much time as possible on location. Going forward this is a trend to watch for in other big box and bank locations, as well as possibly other sectors embracing these tactics. As the numbers grow, these properties will become more valuable for investors and buyers, placing a premium on them when they are added to the market.