Terranova’s blog on real estate, retail related market trends, upcoming events, and more!

Food is King

/in

February 18, 2014 – Food has always been an important component of retail destinations. Take your local shopping center for one you have the grocery store, a coffee shop and maybe even a small eatery. In the shopping mall you have the food court. What i’m saying is that in the age of smartphones, food components are gaining prominence, importance, and, as it takes on a more dominant role in the success of retail destinations, it also is going more upscale.


The supermarket is sprucing up because shoppers want to have a special experience when they step into a store. Fresh market and whole foods highlight our sensory relationship with food, enticing us with heightened visual, tactile and taste presentations. In addition to sprucing up, they are breaking out of the supermarket shell and moving up to co-anchor shopping malls. Consider recent developments in south florida malls: fresh market opened in the falls and whole foods will co-anchor the forthcoming palm beach outlet shops. Whereas trader joes, a quirky, specialty grocer, known for exceptional customer service, opened their first south florida store in pinecrest. A second store is under construction in east boca raton, set to open in a couple months, but im sure their growth will continue rapidly in the tri-county market. The combination of size, price, store brands for its products and customer service creates a unified experience that makes going to trader joe’s an experience all its own.


Trader Joes

And the good old food court at the mall? Expect to see it go upscale, if you havent already. Food courts are going to evolve into food halls or even artisan halls. Been to new york lately? On a former concourse of the plaza hotel, the hotel now has created a food court -to use the traditional generic term – except that it is a highly curated food court where each food stand serves freshly prepared, distinguishable food with a touch of gourmet in it. Even locally weve seen the town center at boca raton transform their food area into the cafes at boca which includes tossed (a made-to order salad bar( and earl of sandwhich. The grease filled, fast-food food court is a thing of the past.

Eataly NYC

Experiential Shopping

/in

February 10, 2014 – Simply displaying and stocking merchandise no longer is enough for a store to be viable. In today’s competitive marketplace being good nor great is acceptable. Consumers command outstanding customer service or a unique experience, otherwise, why get up from the couch where i can work from my wireless key pad, connected to my smart tv, click and voila, have just about anything delivered to my doorstep? Shops need to offer experiences that engage the shopper, and some successful retailers are doing that:

Samsung Experience, NY here’s where you can visit a 10,000 square foot space filled to the brim with the latest tech gadgets. Touch, feel and test out product capabilities first hand, with no pressure to purchase, as none of the merchandise is actually for sale on the spot. If an item strikes your fancy, a brand ambassador assists in making an online purchase at the in-store computer, which arrives at your doorstep within a week. You can now even experience a sampling of this experience on a smaller scale when you visit your local best buy and stop by the Samsung Experience Shop.

Lululemon here’s where you buy your yoga clothing and take an in-store yoga classes.

Apple this is the place where you check out the latest apple gadget, but also you get to hang out at the genius bar, where you can talk the language that 1-techies know and love.

Lululemon

Both at the store level and at the shopping center level, providing different modes of online access will become more commonplace. These brands are testimony to the growing shift in consumer retail experiences. Staying ahead of these trends will prove pivotal in the success of brick and mortar storefronts moving forward.

Blow Dry Bars

/in


January 27, 2014 – The blow bar. Perhaps a phrase unknown to the male demographic, but certainly one that the women of america are well versed in as a new ‘quick-stop’ hair regiment. Since the launch of blow dry bars in major trend setting cities like nyc and la a few years back, gone are the days of women washing their own locks and using a $20 drugstore hair dryer to complete their look. These chic salons are designed with one goal in mind: wash and dry for women’s hair. That’s it. No cuts, no color, no drown out consultations…just dry. Nowadays it isn’t uncommon for women to schedule a ‘blow out’ into their everyday routine. It’s right up there with getting your nails filled every two weeks or your eyebrows waxed; not to mention a must-have for special occasions.most women dread the menial task of washing and styling their hair; it takes forever and is pretty annoying quite frankly. Giving the task to someone else,who happens to be a professional, for a small fee seems like the perfect solution! You can sit back hands-free, while sipping a glass of wine, and viola– in no time your locks are ready to go! Dry (only) bars are making this quick and easy beauty service accessible to the masses at prices around $30-$40 per visit, leaving you with well manicured hair lasting for at least a couple days.some franchises have even created memberships for frequent blow-goers, making prices drop even lower per visit.

New York

Always carefully designed, blow dry bars are not your average neighborhood salon. Just take national brands such as the dry bar and Dreamdry, backed by fashion designer rachel zoe – these boutique-like brands are all about precision. From a chic interior design, to flower arrangements, to wine and champagne selections for guests, to the types of high quality hair dryers that are used; everything is thought out and executed to perfection to ensure the guests’ visit is worthwhile and enjoyable.

BlownDry

Want to try this trend? Check out blow -n- dry lounge at suniland shopping center in pincrest! They offer a variety of services including a moroccan blow out and bella bellini (service and drink duo) with prices starting at $30.