Outdoor Communal Retail Spaces Are Getting Smaller

Communal and outdoor living spaces at retail centers are transitioning from big and flashy to a series of scaled-down living rooms.

GlobeSt.com, By Kelsi Maree Borland | February 26, 2019 at 04:00 AM

Outdoor communal spaces at retail centers are getting smaller. Open gathering spaces have become a standard at retail centers, but they started as large, flashy spaces with programming. Now, retail owners are opting to create a series of smaller living rooms with amenities like WIFI. Most importantly, these living room-style spaces are well designed and could be a key component to attracting locals, increasing foot traffic and competing with online outlets.

“Everything we hear is about brick and mortar competing with online sales. With this in mind, a key component, a key differentiator from an online commodity driven retail experience, is simply treating the guest experience as the anchor,” Greg Lyon owner, principal and design director at Nadel Architects, tells GlobeSt.com. “In other words, the environment that a development provides for its guests and shoppers is the anchor. People will always gravitate towards a well amenitized ‘outdoor living room’ where they can hang out and socialize, and that is what will always set brick and mortar apart from the online experience.”

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The Year of the Fry

French Fries Get A Makeover As Restaurant Competition Heats Up

Forbes.com, Alicia Kelso

Is it too early to declare this the Year of the Fry?

Think about it. McDonald’s just launched limited-time cheesy bacon fries, no doubt targeting Wendy’s Baconator Fries (which, to be fair, have been around for nearly four years). Wendy’s responded to the launch by putting its version in the promotional spotlight – free Baconator Fries to anyone who ordered through the brand’s mobile app – inciting a bacon fry battle of sorts to start the New Year.

French fries have long been a quick-service staple, as well as the subject of intense debate over which brand does them best. However, a case can be made that recent launches have been different. Sexier.

Consider Taco Bell’s Nacho Fries, for example. First introduced in January 2018, the Nacho Fries quickly became the brand’s most successful product launch ever – more than 53 million orders were sold in the product’s first three months alone. The fries made up more than 30% of all Taco Bell orders, yielding both check and transaction increases.

So successful was this product launch, Taco Bell has already brought it back twice as a limited-time offer. Nacho Fries were inarguably a major factor in the chain’s strong 2018 performance.

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