The New Downtown March 2021

Second Cup Second Thursdays 9 AM – 10 AM Learn Share Grow

Denise Murray denise@annarborusa.org https://www.linkedin.com/in/denisejmurray/ (734) 353-7444 Economic Development Coordinator Ann Arbor Spark – City of Brighton

Second Cup Second Thursdays Learn, share and grow It’s a coffee meet-up to discuss business relevant topics and possibly a few local discussions, as needed.

Headline discussions will be as follows:

- Big Messaging for Small Towns Presented February 11 - The New Downtown Presented March 11 - Entrepreneurship via ESO's Presented April 8 - Riding the Green Wave Presented May 13 - Online Attraction for Shrinking Budgets Presented June 10 - Recreation Nation Presented July 8 - On Talent Attraction Presented August 12 - It's Time to Update Your Strategic Plan Presented September 9 - Redoing Retail Spaces & Places Presented October 14 - Extreme Makeover, #EconDev Edition Presented November 11 - Getting to the Bottom (line) of Funding Presented December 9 - Stronger Together: Partnership & Collaboration Presented December 9 (combined)

Second Cup Second Thursdays Housekeeping Items: These are ideas from thought leaders from various cities across the country. They are for discussion purposes and are not a reflection of current city direction.

Please type questions into the Chat Box. An evaluation will be emailed. Please help in making this program grow.

Your input is greatly appreciated.

Covering the Chat Room is Cal Stone 2 Stones Events -- Your source for live music 810-599-0491 cstone1959@yahoo.com www.2StonesEvents.com

Content today is provided by Robert Gibbs - Retail Best Practices IEDC featuring: Deshae Agee, Milwaukee, WI Chris Briggs, Denton, TX (Fastest growing area in the country) Julie Glower, Fort Worth, TX Jorge Kierne, Lubbock, TX 260K population; double-digit growth Jayne Jenkins, Oklahoma City, OK

Second Cup Second Thursdays Seven Points of Action 1.Build relationships 2.Promote the community 3.Host community events 4.Raise funds 5.Implement 6.Maintain ongoing media awareness 7.Ensure an enjoyable experience Please steal this and make it part of your daily mantra…

Second Cup Second Thursdays Quick recap of the current state in a global pandemic Seismic Shift.

Foot traffic down.

Vacancies up.

Events canceled.

Tourism down.

Traffic less than half.

Reach decreased.

Second Cup Second Thursdays Quick recap of the current state in a global pandemic THE NEW NORMAL What customers are doing to adjust: • Wearing masks and social distancing • Seeking more open-air spaces /outdoor gathering • Working remotely • Seeking vaccines

What retailers are doing to adjust: • Posting signs to communicate hours, rules and reassurances • Making food prep leaner and cleaner • Making outdoor dining more comfortable • Trying alternative revenue sources • Expanding social media technology

What cities have been doing to support businesses: • Seeking local assistance programs, grants and economic incentives • Supporting 15-minute pick-up initiatives • Focusing on retention and expansion efforts • Providing merchant assistance • Updating ordinances • Encouraging entrepreneurs

Second Cup Second Thursdays Robert Gibbs – Retail Best Practices Current state, according to the Urban Retail Institute • Apparel is down 90%. 100K stores are closing across the country.

• Online is up 12%. Will plateau at 15%.

• The pandemic has changed shopping forever.

• 75% of Malls will close by 2025. Tenants will get 30-90 day notice. Better retailers are looking to find an urban center to keep in their market. They have high design standards. Rents are less. Costs are less. People want to be there. However, historically, most downtowns don’t want national retailers.

Second Cup Second Thursdays Robert Gibbs – Retail Best Practices Town Centers are thriving, such as Village of Rochester and Avalon Town Center in Atlanta, which is a high-density mixed-use development.

Note: Town Centers were created in the 1980s to offer upscale fashion and home furnishings without subsidized department stores.

The Village of Rochester

9

Avalon Town Center, Atlanta

550,000 sf Retail – 800 Residential Units

Second Cup Second Thursdays Robert Gibbs – Retail Best Practices

What can the City of Brighton do to help drive retail sales?

Second Cup Second Thursdays Robert Gibbs – Retail Best Practices Focus on what they want to draw Anchors can drive up sales by 30%. Meet the new anchors: •

Grocery stores have a near-equivalent effect on sales like an anchor.

It will drive up sales 25%. Rents go up if there is a Whole Foods.

   

Farmers Markets drive up sales by 25%.

Festivals can drive up restaurant sales by 35%.

Parks increase sales by 5%.

Cinemas only drive up sales by 6%. They don’t help sales and 50% will close due to COVID.

 Food trucks: boost restaurant sales. Best days are food truck days (Northville). People come out to see all the excitement. Long lines for food trucks drive people into restaurants. Could be tested out on a slow dining day.

Belmar Town Center, Lakewood, CO

Second Cup Second Thursdays Robert Gibbs – Retail Best Practices

Easton Town Center: Columbus: Built to look like real towns. Beautifully landscaped. Small benches for children. Signage is hand crafted.

Second Cup Second Thursdays Robert Gibbs – Retail Best Practices

Address Parking:      

People park in the same spot all of their lives.

People are creatures of habit.

Some may say people are lazy.

Shoppers want to see the front door of the store they want to go to.

Need on-street parking to attract people into the store.

A parking space that can turn over 8x/day can generate $175,000/ retail sales / stall / year.

The only way to ensure this is by parking meters. Best meters are old fashioned with quarters. (People don’t follow instructions well.)  Only put meters where you want HOT sales.

 DO NOT allow employees to park in premium parking spots.

$175,000 Retail Sales/Stall/Yr.

West Haven, Franklin, Tenn. DPZ Planners

Second Cup Second Thursdays Robert Gibbs – Retail Best Practices Increase Walkability: Score for a city should be 80 minimum. 85 is better.

The City of Brighton is currently a 68. .

90–100 Walker's Paradise Daily errands do not require a car.

70–89 Very Walkable Most errands can be accomplished on foot.

50–69 Somewhat Walkable Some errands can be accomplished on foot.

25–49 Car-Dependent Most errands require a car.

0–24 Car-Dependent Almost all errands require a car.

Second Cup Second Thursdays Robert Gibbs – Retail Best Practices

Consider temporary structures .

Such as shipping containers or other buildouts to be rented.

Walloon Village: 40 Sq Ft stores that draw a ton and convert to perm retailers when successful.

Gibbs Planning Group

Walloon Village

Second Cup Second Thursdays Robert Gibbs – Retail Best Practices

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Incorporate Art. Cincinnati has the best murals in the country.

Mexico

Gibbs Planning Group

Art

Second Cup Second Thursdays Robert Gibbs – Retail Best Practices

What can retailers do to help drive retail sales?

Second Cup Second Thursdays Robert Gibbs – Retail Best Practices Wayfinding / Signage: They should be hand-made to encourage uniqueness of a community. One city even has three-dimensional signs. Work with local artists. .

Alexandria, VA

Second Cup Second Thursdays Robert Gibbs – Retail Best Practices

Shopping is elective. Be creative to draw in your client.

Second Cup Second Thursdays Robert Gibbs – Retail Best Practices STORE FRONT DESIGN Eight-second rule: If you have 8 seconds for someone to walk past your store, with two glass windows . a door in the middle, it means you have about 2.5 seconds to grab someone’s attention and get and them to come into the store. People will not turn around once they pass your door. Any distraction will stop them from going in. Make sure both doors are unlocked and preferably open.

Landscaping will increase sales by 15-25%. It puts people in a better frame of mind, increasing “price elasticity.” Yes, it will get vandalized, even in the best of communities. But keep up with it. Flowers are a must. Trees like Oak and Sugar Maple work best.

The front door should be freshly painted every few months! (note: Disney would freshly paint touchpoints daily in Disneyworld before the park opened.)

Sidewalk and walls should be bland. You want people to notice your storefront windows.

Dark colored storefronts do better. Do not use tan, beige or brown!

Petoskey, MI

Sales Floor

Storage

Store Planning

Gibbs Planning Group

Sidewalk

Palm Beach, Florida

Palm Beach, FL

Second Cup Second Thursdays Robert Gibbs – Retail Best Practices Interior: • Keep seating for spouses so they can ditch their spouse. Otherwise, spouse will hurry the shopper along.

• . White shelving.

• Good lighting. Sky lights increase sales by 50%. Have a mix (10) of incandescent lights to soften fluorescent lighting. LED is too bright. Restaurants should have three lighting sources. Have real candles on the table and you will increase sales of wine and desert.

• Color. BLUE curbs appetites, especially when paired with yellow!

RED excites and makes people want to shop.

Second Cup Second Thursdays Robert Gibbs – Retail Best Practices Display a front table. 20% of sales should come from this front table. It should be updated weekly.

Keep floors simple. Focus on display. .

Put people in the window. People dining is a billboard for you. Put attractive people in the front.

Less attractive people in the back.

SALE: The most beautiful four-letter word. Make sure you have something (about 5) in season/good stuff, even if it is just 15% off.

Keep your most profitable merchandise in the middle so people have to walk past it 2x.

Millennials do not like chrome fixtures. They like plumbing fixtures. (a great deal of money was spent researching this.)

Second Cup Second Thursdays Robert Gibbs – Retail Best Practices POS: Keep your counter clear. .

People manic shop with credit cards. Be sure to have some items at the POS for impulse buys. Having items for family members (husband or kids) is ideal because it eases their guilt for their spending spree.

Do not post hiring signs. People will assume you are short staffed and will get poor service.

Small independent stores: You are specialty and people need your expertise.

Second Cup Second Thursdays Robert Gibbs – Retail Best Practices

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75% of sales occur after 5 PM. This makes it very difficult for local retailers.

–Second Cup Second Thursdays Open discussion Which of these points do you feel we could achieve over the next year?

For further reading: read Robert Gibbs’ article on the revitalization of downtowns: https://dirt.asla.org/2020/05/13/the-pandemic-will-lead-to-a-revitalization-of-main-street-ret ail/

Second Cup Second Thursdays Thank you for participating!

Save the Date: Entrepreneurship via ESO’s (Entrepreneurial Support Organization)

Presented April 8

Denise Murray denise@annarborusa.org https://www.linkedin.com/in/denisejmurray/ (734) 353-7444 Economic Development Coordinator Ann Arbor Spark – City of Brighton