Millennials will buoy retail in 2017
Retail real estate expert Faith Hope Consolo, who heads up the retail group at Douglas Elliman Real Estate, has high hopes for 2017, predicting that bigger-spending millennials and recession-proof retailers will keep sales humming on high streets and in malls, if not in department stores.
“Millennials are going to start shopping differently this coming year,” Consolo told Chain Store Age. “It used to be they’d spend up to 75% of their disposable income on food, but that was a fad. This year, they will start spending more on fitness and fashion.”
More retail leases will be snapped up by hot online sellers expanding their reaches and customer experiences, she said, naming Kyliecosmetics.com and Goodamerican.com as two to watch.
Good American promises girls and women a perfect fit in its pricey jeans ($149 and up). The all-bases-covered sizing chart on its website includes leg opening, front rise, and inseam, along with waist and hip. Good American has already tested the waters with availability in selected Nordstroms.
Kardashian clan member Kylie Jenner is the force behind Kylie Cosmetics, which is sure to ride into retail on a tidal wave of social media sharing the brand’s risqué, dripping-lips trademark.
As the shakeout among traditional retailers continues apace, a new class of recession-proof and online-savvy retailers will fill empty storefronts in shopping centers and downtowns, Consolo maintains. One of these is Ulta, which the chairman of retail leasing for Douglas Elliman in New York says in in the midst of a Manhattan invasion.
“They are hand-picking spots on the Upper East Side, Midtown, and Downtown,” Consolo reports.
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