Supermarket/Grocery

Philadelphia - Investors are feeling bullish on upcoming retail opportunities in Philadelphia, and it’s evident as JLL’s Capital Markets experts announced the sale of One and Olney Square on behalf of BLDG and The Feil Organization. Wharton Realty Group purchased the center.

Anchored by ShopRite, the community shopping center totals 339,784 sq. ft. and includes tenants such as Dollar Tree, Modell’s and Burger King.

Huntsville, Alabama - GBT Realty Corp. announced the expansion of Strong Station, a 180,000-sq.-ft. neighborhood center in Huntsville, Alabama, currently tenanted by Academy Sports + Outdoor. Nearly 96% leased, the $16-million Phase II adds 95,000 sq. ft. of retail on nine acres to the east of the existing sporting goods store.      

Hollywood, Fla. – Altpay, a startup mobile payment company that released its patent-pending technology in April 2014, has received a $1 million equity investment from two family office investors. Altpay markets its mobile payment service in the U.S. to regional and mid-market retailers, including supermarkets, grocers, pharmacies and convenience stores.

Mississauga, Canada -  Walmart Canada is adding 33 Grab and Go lockers in the greater Toronto area.  The lockers allow customers to buy online then pick up their items in stores.   The retailer installed its first set of lockers at 10 locations in the Toronto area in August. The announcement follows a series of initiatives Walmart Canada has launched in the past year to accelerate its e-commerce program.  

Washington, D.C. – Online sales are expected to reach $300 billion in 2014, $335 billion in 2015 and $512 billion by 2020. According to predictions from FTI Consulting Inc., despite sluggish retail sales in the past year, FTI Consulting's Retail & Consumer Product experts believe online sales will continue to grow at a double-digit rate for the next several years.  

Online sales are expected to reach $300 billion in 2014, $335 billion in 2015 and $512 billion by 2020.

According to business forecasting experts at FTI Consulting Inc., online sales will continue to grow at a double-digit rate for the next several years.

The world's largest retailer reported a robust Black Friday weekend — including record online sales — as part of its kickoff to the 2014 holiday sales season.

“In a few short hours, we flipped from being the largest grocery store in town to the best gift shop on the block," said Laura Phillips, SVP of merchandising at Walmart. "Not only did we have millions of customers shopping our stores, but we’re confident Walmart was the first stop of the night for most of them."

After nearly a decade of stalled growth in the shopping center industry, 2014 finally saw progress being made on the new development front. While it’s true that much of the ground-up construction was of the outlet center ilk, the value sector wasn’t the only new-build push. Mixed-use properties and open-air destinations continue to come out of the ground, albeit stingily, as do hybrid centers that defy current standard definitions.