Mass Merchant

Female executives take leading roles in retail IT arena

If a “leader” is someone who knows how to take charge, achieve goals and inspire others along the way — even in the most trying of circumstances — then the women featured in this special section are leaders in every sense of the word. They have toiled and proved their mettle — and smarts — in a field that traditionally has not been all that female-friendly: technology.

Gasoline prices will remain low in 2016, but that doesn’t mean retailers can count on a big windfall from the extra cash left in shoppers’ wallets and there are three key reasons why.

The limited benefit of low gasoline prices to retailers — especially food and mass retailers — is the result of three key factors shaping household spending behavior:

Kansas City, Mo. -- Taubman Centers and The Macerich Company announced an agreement to purchase Country Club Plaza located in Kansas City, Missouri, from Highwoods Properties. Taubman and Macerich will each have a 50% interest in the center, which will be jointly managed by both companies. The mixed-use retail and office property was purchased for $660 million cash, excluding transaction costs. Concurrent with or shortly after closing, a long-term, fixed-rate loan for 50%-60% of the purchase price is expected to be placed on the asset.

How will retailers fare in 2016? Very well, according to experienced market watchers.

“We expect core retail sales to grow 5.3% in 2016,” says Scott Hoyt, senior director of consumer economics for Moody’s Analytics, a research firm based in West Chester, Pennsylvania. (Core retail sales exclude volatile revenues from auto sales and gas stations.) That is notably faster than the 4.2% rate anticipated when 2015 sales are finally tallied. The 2015 experience was, again, slightly better than the 3.9% growth of 2014.

Although it still only represents a small percentage of total retail sales, e-commerce is one of the biggest subjects in retail for 2016.

Shipping software provider TrueShip offers the following list of 10 predictions for the direction of e-commerce in the new year.

For the retailing industry, 2015 was another year of seismic shifts as merchants continued to keep pace with the evolving digital landscape. It was also a busy year of executive comings and goings. Here is my pick of industry executives — all new to their positions — to keep an eye on in 2016.

At some of the most innovative commercial landscapes around the country, new technologies are becoming an important piece of the visual and experiential fabric. From signage to celebrations, technology is an integral part of many retail and mixed-use centers.

Nordstrom Rack is coming to New Orleans.