The prevailing view during the pandemic—that bricks-and-mortar retail was in a battle for survival against e-commerce—has given way in the post-pandemic economy to an understanding that the most successful retailers are those who optimize all of their sales channels.

"We are finally beyond the theory that e-commerce and bricks-and-mortar retail are at war with each other. In reality, they work together to make each other better," Brandon Isner, CBRE's Head of Retail Research for the Americas, told GlobeSt.com.

Isner is bullish about the growth potential for e-commerce: he thinks direct-to-consumer can eventually carve out close to a 30% share of overall retail sales, double what it is today. But he's part of a growing consensus among leading retail players who see fine-tuned omnichannels feeding into each other as the future of retail.