A Look at the Latest Retail and Design Trends

Over the past two weeks, we attended retail conferences where we met with other retail industry professionals to learn more about strategies and innovations shaping the retail world today. What we found to be a common trend among retailers is that they are doing away with the old metrics for evaluating their store’s effectiveness. No longer are they paying as close attention to the number of sales per square foot. Instead they are looking at the lasting impressions they make on their visitors. They want to know – are customers receiving a memorable experience? Many retailers are utilizing technology and …

Oct 10, 2018 By admin

What to Consider When Designing a Retail Store

This week we are in Scottsdale, Arizona at the Retail Spaces event and next week we’ll be heading over to the International Retail Design Conference (IRDC) in Seattle. With retail so prominent on our mind, it’s the perfect opportunity to review design and permitting considerations surrounding retail stores. We have broken down three key elements that permit applicants must consider when working on a retail store: accessibility, egress, and racking. Accessibility New facilities and existing facilities being altered must comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) construction and design standards. The design standards are very extensive and detailed to …

Sep 20, 2018 By admin

Outlet Malls vs Lifestyle Centers

If you’re not a stranger to shopping, then you have likely visited both an outlet mall and a lifestyle center. Both have similar characteristics – they’re shopping centers with lots of retailers in one location – but what makes them different? Of course, you are probably already aware that outlet malls offer cheaper priced goods, but do you know how they differ from a development standpoint? As experts in the permitting field, we’ve handled permits for many categories of shopping centers. Through our experience, we’ve highlighted a list of three major differences between outlet malls and lifestyle centers. Clientele The …

Aug 6, 2018 By admin

How Pop-Up Retail Permits Work

If you read our last blog “How to Permit a Lifestyle Center,” you have a general concept of lifestyle centers and the permits required to perform construction work on them. Keeping pace with lifestyle centers, let’s discuss pop-up retail and how it relates to lifestyle centers. Pop-up retail, sometimes called “flash sales,” is a temporary retail space. Have you ever been to a costume store for Halloween that was only around during the month of October? Pop-ups are often holiday- or event-specific and only stick around for a short time. Retailers also utilize pop-up stores to test out a new …

Jul 14, 2018 By admin