Am still thinking about my visit to Hudson Yards and the 1MM square feet of retail space they are offering! Loved everything about that development but the commitment to retail seems overdone and way off trend.

But that aside, here are four retail trends that I fully expect to see more of in 2017:

Amazon Prime Is the #1 Trend When It Comes To Retail

Just got on board with this recently and it is absolutely making me buy more stuff, more often – and, at the same time, shop less often anywhere else.

Today, for example, I ordered Shoe Dog by Phil Knight after a brief online convo with a friend about how I want to read more this year. I’m still resisting the overnite shipping thing. Instead, I opt for a $5 credit for 7-day delivery.

And check this out: More than 72% of Amazon’s customers worldwide shopped through mobile devices and Dec. 19 was the busiest shopping day this holiday season. Prime customers spend twice as much as other consumers using Amazon. The final numbers are not yet available for 2016 but does anyone doubt, they will be AMAZONIAN?

Read on below for what’s happening with strategic pop-ups and what big traditional brands are doing to dial up their buzz factor.

 2. Strategic Pop-Ups: Gorgeous, Gigantic Spaces, Up for a Month or More

Why sign a lease when something short-term can generate so much buzz?

2016 was huge for pop ups. The big difference nowadays is that they are so much more creative and elaborate, in larger spaces with longer-term leases e.g. 3 months. And this is most important: they are increasingly designed to be  snapchat and instagram-worthy.

Highlights this past year just in NYC: Made By Google, The Casper Winter Wonderland and Thrive Global. And then, of course, there were a ridiculous number of entertainment pop-ups that were weekend phenomena, often on a global basis. Frank Ocean’s was one of the very best and most creative.

PopUp Republic values the pop-up industry at $50 billion.

 

3. Big Traditional Brands Go All-Out With Experiential Retail

Seeing lots of this in high-rent, high traffic locations like Times Square or Vegas. The Hershey Store in Times Square is expanding to a new location with 3 times the space. Sometime this year, a new NFL store in partnership with Cirque du Soleil will also open in Times Square.

Am not sure what the ROI is on Experiential Retail – do tourists really go home and buy more Hershey’s? But something about it must be working because more companies and brands are getting on board.

 

4. Dollar Stores are Booming

1,900 new Dollar General stores opened in 2016 and there were significant increases in square footage for Dollar Tree and Family Dollar.