November 30, 2019 | Jessica Caron
NOVEMBER 29, 2019 | THE PALOMAR GROUP
The term ‘Black Friday’ may bring to your mind images of long lines, shiny discount stickers, and aggressive shoppers. For brick and mortar retailers and shopping center owners, the term serves as an annual reminder from news outlets that internet shopping is quickly upending their businesses.
While the period from Black Friday through Cyber Monday highlights the substantial growth of e-commerce nationwide, the true story is that brick and mortar retail is still very strong as roughly 80% of all retail sales from Black Friday through Cyber Monday are expected come from these storefronts, according to Digital Commerce 360. The retailers that make headlines and reinforce the “dark ages” are typically those big box stores that you or your parents grew up knowing and loving for decades. Sure the internet played a large role in wiping them out, but they also failed to adapt to a changing climate. This story unfolds every day across multiple industries: companies fail to make the necessary changes to keep up with the competition and do not survive. However, customers still want a physical retail front where they can interact with, return, or take home products on the same day.
Online retailers understand this as well and are fighting to put their business in brick and mortar space to increase brand awareness. Amazon as teamed up with Kohl’s to put return locations inside their stores. Companies are using creative ways to put feet on the floor of their stores and the e-commerce force is being embraced instead of feared.
Black Friday will highlight the importance of e-commerce in this era but shopping centers are a valuable and strong partner.