16.12.2020
Online Retail Sales Projected to Fall in 2021 As In-Store Sales Rise
While most retail spending shifted online during 2020 due to Covid-19, causing ecommerce sales to rise 36%, a new report from Colliers International explains that online retail sales are likely to fall 8.5% during 2021 and in-store sales are set to increase by 5.9%. Additionally, while ecommerce sales captured 18.4% of total retail sales, up from 13.8% in 2019, in 2021, portion is expected to fall to 16.3% and then growing back to 18.3% in 2023. Wade Achenbach, an executive vice president at Kite Realty Group, said, “I think there is more of an opportunity (in retail) than any of the other sectors.” He continued to explain that “What’s really happening when somebody says e-commerce? It’s more of an omnichannel,” he said. “Even Amazon realizes the value of stores with its purchase of Whole Foods.”
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Multifamily Developers Set For ‘Pandemic Pivot’ Into Workforce Housing
While urban multifamily development has been a profitable strategy for many real estate developers over the last decade, many have begun to pivot and focus workforce housing developments as a result of Covid-19. Developers found that middle-class and workforce housing fared better during the 2020 downturn than did similar properties in urban markets. As a result, CRG, a real estate development firm, committed $1 billion toward the development of class B workforce housing in the US, mostly in suburban markets. At the same time, Bobby Turner, the CEO of Turner Impact Capital, just closed its second workforce housing fund with $350 million in committed capital. He explained that, “I have always been a huge believer in investing in underserved communities, and if it’s done intelligently, you can get better returns.”
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