DALLAS—Unlike previous downturns such as the Great Recession of2008-2009, the Dallas-Fort Worth retail real estate market enteredthe current pandemic-induced downturn from a position of strength.One of retail's benefits going into the pandemic was itsback-to-back years of healthy performance as well as a decade ofnear-historic low retail construction that kept oversupply to aminimum, according to a mid-year report by Weitzman.

That overall health is combined with programs such as PPP loansand landlords' willingness to collaborate with tenants on workoutsthat often include rent deferrals. These programs have helped limitwhat otherwise could have been a more significant decline inoverall retail occupancy. However, the metro area's retailers,restaurants and retail landlords are now struggling to identify thebest methods to deal with the unprecedented challenge posed byCOVID-19, which has resulted in increased unemployment, greatlyreduced shopper traffic and mandated closings or reduced capacitylimits.

"This report is unlike any previous mid-year retail report inWeitzman's 30-year history," Marshall Mills, president and CEO ofWeitzman, tells GlobeSt.com. "Never before have we faced achallenge like COVID-19, which hit hard at every segment of oureconomies and our lives, and seemingly all at once. The pandemic isaffecting Texas' retail markets and its retailers, and we are notsurprisingly reporting occupancy declines. But I have to tell you,without the evolution retail has undergone during the past fewyears, it could be much worse. Brick-and-mortar retailing has spentthese years transforming with digital marketing and innovationslike curbside, takeout and delivery to compete with onlineretailers of Amazon. As a result, our industry finds itself betterprepared to perform during the social distancing required bycurrent health crisis."