Retail Lessons from the Inner-City

Retail Lessons from the Inner-City is a discussion thread on Retail Wire, based on this piece from CNN, Big merchants learn from the Big Easy. To read it, you'll have to register. It's very good.

There are really two very different markets: (1) upper-end customers, business traveler, and tourists; vs. (2) inner-city retail for lower-income customers.

And this truly varies by neighborhood and the revitalization phase of the commercial district. Stable commercial districts have a much easier time than those districts that are emerging or distressed, and even transitioning districts, where the process can be slow.

Some retailers, because of the security, stolen goods (shrinkage), and personnel (it's very hard to find qualified employees), don't want to be bothered. Drug store chains tend to be the most committed, although their quality varies markedly. E.g., in DC the CVS stores at 7th and H Streets NW or Connecticut Avenue and K Street NW have able cashiers that move people along quickly, whereas stores in the neighborhoods can be nightmares.

And most retailers still have a difficult time adjusting their store formats to districts comprised of historic building stock and thinking beyond the car. Places like Georgetown and Dupont Circle are a breeze retail-wise. Other areas have to work much harder.

Index Keywords: urban-revitalization