REAL ESTATE NEWS

To meet the needs of customers today, retailers must take a broad approach. During a discussion at ICSC NEW YORK 2025, a panel talked specifically about balancing customers’ overall experience with convenience.

This was moderated Whitney Livingston, chief operating officer of ICSC. The speakers were Cassie Durand, executive vice president at CBRE, Angele Robinson-Gaylord, ICSC chair, 2025 and SVP of store development Americas at Starbucks and Barrie Scardina, president of Americas retail services at Cushman & Wakefield.

All three gave different answers, with Robinson-Gaylord emphasizing the importance of bringing an “equilibrium” between experience and convenience.

Embracing Both Experience and Convenience

“We are a commodity that people want to engage with on the daily basis,” she said.

“But we are presenting a premium offering where we want to make sure that the experience is elevated. But if we don't make sure that the travel path is easily accessible for our customers to travel in and out of our sights, then we're doing a disservice to those customers who are most time pressed.”

Specifically for Starbucks, this means balancing investments in the stores to create an inviting in-person experience that includes providing comfortable seating and making sure orders are ready once customers enter the store after placing a mobile order.

Approach Depends on Retail Brand

Durand’s response was more nuanced and emphasized that it depends on the brand. For example, top-of-the-line offerings won’t have to worry much about convenience. However, for others and retailers notably involved in fashion and beauty – the opposite is true – and demand in that case for the customer needs to be “front and center,” according to Durand.

Scardina shared an interesting view, noting that demand is part of the experience and those two should not be mutually exclusive.

“I want to know that when I order that drink, when I go to pull up, it's ready, but I also want to feel the environment,” she said.

AI Unknown but Momentum Expected to Pick Up

Across the business community, no question a big bet has been made on artificial intelligence – especially in 2025. However, the use of the technology appears to be in its early stages with retail and it remains unclear how customers will perceive this in the future, according to Scardina.

“I think that the retail and the real estate world haven't really caught up to how the consumer is adapting AI,” she admitted.

However, Scardina predicts that we will see more efforts around AI getting incorporated into stores, with chatbots being one example.

Durand echoed those thoughts, with a little bit more.

“I think we're going to hit that moment again, where all of a sudden, it's going to be an unlock, and all of your decision [and] matrix opportunities are going to be facilitated by AI,” she forecasted, while adding that one Cushman & Wakefield’s beauty-focused clients is working on implementing AI to help consumers build out skincare routine in store.

Robinson-Gaylord, meanwhile, said that Starbucks does use AI across its business but prioritizes focusing on human and store interaction to create the best possible experience.

Separately, Starbucks is also testing smaller format stores called espresso bars, which range from 1,100 to 1,500 square feet, down from the 1,900 to 2,200 square feet that the coffee chain’s typical store spans, according to Robinson-Gaylord.

These smaller locations bring “a much more intimate environment,” while offering “that cafe experience.” Plus, these are developed at a lower cost.

While the future of AI and experience versus convenience can be debated – Scardina brought up one concern: Consumer spending. While it looks strong (with the Atlanta Fed calling for 3.5 percent GDP growth in the third quarter – it’s uneven, according to Scardina. The top 10 percent are driving the activity, while middle-income Americans face challenges.

“I do think we're going to see stores that started to expand pull back, because the consumer is going to pull back.”

"We know the consumer has spent a lot of money. [But] the debt is extraordinarily high.”

Source: GlobeSt/ALM