Ecommerce is having a big impact on brick-and-mortar retail,including daily needs and experiential modes. While investors havebeen focusing on these retail niches as a way to protect againstecommerce, a new paper from David Shulman, senioreconomist for the UCLA Ziman Center forReal Estate and UCLA AndersonForecast, shows that ecommerce is taking a growing sharefrom retail spending. Ecommerce currently accounts for 8.9% of allretail sales—which generally puts retail investors at ease—however,that number includes automobile, gas, auto parts and restaurants,all of which are not “amenable to ecommerce competition,” accordingto Shulman's research. When you adjust for those retail classes,ecommerce's bite of retail spending actually jumps up to 15%. Forgrocery, that number is growing rapidly. The paper cites a GoldmanSachs report forecasting ecommerce will account for 10% to 20% ofgrocery sales alone in the next decade. Now, Amazon's acquisitionof Whole Foods has highlighted the growth, and forecasted futuregrowth, of ecommerce. To find out why this is significant for thebrick-and-mortar market and why ecommerce is poised to continue totake an increasing share from retail spending, we sat down withSchulman for an interview.

GlobeSt.com: There has been a lot of discussionabout Amazon's acquisition of Whole Foods, and if it has positiveor negative implications for brick-and-mortar retail. What is yourtake?