By Brian Johnson
2021 President
Santa Barbara Association of Realtors
Retail has been hurting for a number of years but the pandemic really drove home that point. During the initial days of lockdown, retailers and property owners both began to try to determine how they would handle the post pandemic world. The face of retail is going to look very different once it is said and done. Retailers who had been concerned about the delivery capabilities of companies such as Amazon found that rather than trying to beat them they would have to join them or in some cases collaborate with them.
The past year has seen a huge increase in delivery services offered for everything from restaurants and soft goods to groceries to daily essentials. The number of delivery options blew up almost overnight. Now these companies are shifting to smaller footprints and fewer locations. This means more vacancy in the marketplace. What will property owners do to adjust?