The Evolving Demand for Retail Space

For several years, real estate headlines have barked that brick-and-mortar retail is dead – an easily disproved notion, based on the facts that in-person sales still constitute 91% of America’s $5.1 trillion retail market and approximately 4,000 more stores opened than closed during 2017. However, brick-and-mortar retail is undergoing a transformation. The U.S. has the most retail space in the world at 23.6 square feet per capita, roughly five times that of the U.K. and other European countries. The landscape has been challenging for department stores in particular, with the Macy’s CEO once describing the situation as “ridiculous” before announcing the closure of 100 underperforming stores out of the company’s 728 locations.

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