Phillips Edison Reveals Top Retail Shopping Center Trends to Watch in 2022 - Seite 2

Ashley Casey, Director of National Accounts at PECO, added, “We continue to see retailers pushing the envelope when it comes to leveraging the latest technologies – both on and offline – to create better experiences and foster greater loyalty among their customers. The highest-growth categories we’re seeing across our portfolio include medical offices and services in the health and wellness category. Another sector that has been exciting to track has been quick-service restaurants. These operators, which cover everything from fast food through specialty concepts and ghost kitchens, have shown incredible agility and innovation over the last couple of years, and we believe this points to significant growth for the entire category.”

As it relates to both technology and quick-service restaurants, Dunkin’ and Chipotle are two leading brands that have launched digital-only restaurants with intentions to scale. Further, Taco Bell has introduced its Defy model, which features four drive-thru lanes – three of which are dedicated to mobile orders – and Panera Bread is rolling out double drive-thrus and updated kiosks to expedite ordering. A growing number of restaurants including Wendy’s, Quiznos and Cracker Barrel are also utilizing ghost kitchens – which represent a growing $43 billion industry led by the likes of Kitchen United, CloudKitchens, REEF, and All Day Kitchens – across their active markets. These trends point to the restaurant industry’s drive to accommodate the significant demand for off-premise dining, which is likely to continue growing long beyond the pandemic. Outdoor and patio seating, which many quick-service restaurants worked to implement during the pandemic, is also likely to remain a focus for on-premise dining for the foreseeable future.

These insights are produced by PECO’s National Accounts and Emerging Trends team, which consists of a group of highly specialized leasing professionals that tracks over 400 accounts and actively engages with 150 growing retailers. This team travels the country meeting with brands to learn how they are evolving to identify creative ways that PECO can advance their real estate objectives. In the process, the team closely tracks and documents developing trends across different retail categories including grocery, restaurant, fitness, health and beauty, medical, entertainment and discount.