Enormous Event Returns To Iconic New York City Convention Center
The Innovating Commerce Serving Communities (ICSC) event has made its post-pandemic return to the Javits Center in New York City. This huge, two-day event brought together dealmakers, real estate professionals and hundreds of retail experts in the marketplaces industry. The ICSC website states that “The ICSC Premier event series are our must-attend annual global gatherings of the Marketplaces Industry’s networked community of dealmakers, negotiators and money makers.”
The marketplace industry represents brick-and-mortar stores, online stores and online marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon, where people go to buy products sold by other businesses. ICSC anticipated that hundreds of retail and real estate experts would use the gathering to find new ways to build back their businesses after the impact of COVID-19. The event was last held live in 2019 and industry experts were eager to address the huge changes the marketplace industry has gone through in the past three years.
“For retailers, the biggest issue is understanding how to best meet the needs of the consumer in the current — and shifting — economic conditions. As things like inflation, interest rate hikes, and other factors squeeze consumers’ wallets, retailers are evaluating how they can maximize their online and in-store channels in order to provide value to the consumer while also protecting the bottom line,” said Tom McGee, president and chief executive officer of ICSC, prior to the event. “Many in our industry feel they’ve weathered the storm of the last few years and are focused on the future,” he said.
Participating retailers included Abercrombie & Fitch, which opened 60 stores but closed 30 this year and has more than 200 leases coming due in 2023. Other retailers anticipating 2023 store openings include Macy’s Inc. which is expanding its new Market by Macy’s and Bloomies specialty designs. There is also a rumor circulating that Amazon will be opening a department store in the near future.
Athleta, Madewell, Rue21, Target and Von Maur are other ICSC attendees with big store opening plans in the new year. But no retailer plans to open more stores than Dollar General, who has shared a goal of opening more than 1,000 new locations in 2023. In all, 339 exhibitors provided information to an estimated 7,000 participants filling the Jarvis Center.
On the development and real estate side of the industry, Simon Property Group is expanding its famous Woodbury Common Premium Outlets. The company is also building a 400,000-square-foot high-end fashion outlet in Carson, California. Simon and competitor Tanger are both building new outlet centers in Nashville, Tennessee.
ICSC foresees a healthy 2023 for developers, despite economic concerns. “Developers are closely watching the economy as inflation persists and could impact new projects,” McGee said. “Additionally, they are concerned about the tight labor market and the lack of people choosing to learn trade jobs such as construction, which creates delays and adds costs to new developments.”
Programs offered during ICSC focused on a wide variety of issues surrounding the intersection of online and physical shopping. Experts examined the role of retail in major cities, including their contribution to the resurrection of downtown districts. Moderated panel discussions, micro-learning sessions and a fireside chat with Jersey Mike’s president Hoyt Jones were key moments of the event.
ICSC surveyed more than 2,000 individuals online in November and discovered that brick-and-mortar stores are performing well for 2022’s holiday season. “Human beings naturally crave in-person interaction and the experience of shopping in a store, going to a restaurant and other forms of entertainment,’ said McGee. “Throughout the pandemic, consumers widely turned to online shopping or curbside pickup to get the items they wanted and needed, but as we revert to pre-pandemic behaviors, consumers are returning to in-store shopping for the experience they cannot get online.”
The ICSC surveys revealed that 66 percent of Thanksgiving weekend shoppers spent money at a physical store, up 5% from last year. When asked why they chose a physical store over online shopping, 50% said it was the ability to see and touch the merchandise physically, 35% cited browsing for new gift ideas, and 34% said they simply have an overall preference for in-store shopping.
Still, 48% of respondents said they shopped online that weekend from Amazon and other online retailers. When asked why, 63% said it was more convenient than shopping in person and half said they found better deals and promotions online. A majority of the ICSC respondents (73%) said they visited a shopping center during Thanksgiving weekend to shop or access other activities and services.
