THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY CHALLENGE: KEEP OUR CITIES ALIVE

Businesses and the real estate industry face major challenges in terms of sustainability and changing consumer behaviours. So what needs to be done for cities to stay alive in the age of e-commerce? Emma Hernell, a board member of Wester + Elsner Architects, recently held a lecture on the subject.

“Commerce is in a major restructuring phase” she says.

Emma is also Vice President of HUI Research, perhaps best known as the institute that nominates the ‘must-have’ Christmas present each year and tracks Christmas shopping patterns. But more about that later on.

Store closures accelerating

Emma Hernell consults for companies in the retail and real estate industry, and wants to try to better understand what motivates peoples’ buying behaviours and how it affects our cities and communities. That’s because a major challenge facing businesses today is how to retain a presence in our cities and keep them alive.

“We predict many stores will close in the next few years, so the issue will be what happens to the street-level properties in all our cities? It is important for city life and the sense of security in built-up areas that these properties remain open, accessible and are not closed up,” says Emma Hernell.

Better service and more entertainment

She believes the big brands will continue to operate stores to remain in direct contact with consumers, as well as e-commerce businesses who want a physical presence in the best locations in big cities. But she predicts there will be a shift towards an increased range of restaurants and cafes and commercial services such as hairdressers and nail salons, as well as places for clothing care such as sewing studios and dry cleaners.

Second hand and upcycling

“The second-hand market is developing strongly, and is starting to become so large that it is impacting on the retail trade and above all the fashion sector. We can see that the fashion industry is working hard to identify circular business models, which is really exciting”, says Emma Hernell.

In addition to the growth of the second-hand market, work continues to find environmentally friendly and socially sustainable production and transport chain solutions, ways to develop more organic materials and systems for recycling textiles.

“We will also hear a lot in the future about the positive and negative impact of e-commerce on the environment. For example, the effects of people returning goods and perhaps even legislation that will be introduced because of it,” predicts Emma Hernell.

Mobile Phone Box is this year’s hit

Despite the discussions about sustainability, HUI reports this year’s Christmas shopping trade has broken new records. Sweden is still in a financial boom, interest rates are low and the tradition of buying Christmas presents remains strong, says HUI.

The institute has named the mobile phone box as this year’s Christmas present – a dedicated place to put your mobile phone that makes it easier to find a better balance between staying in touch and taking a break from your phone.

“Lots of stores have caught on to the trend, either by selling something similar from their existing range or as a guide to creating their own box. This has given birth to a lot of ideas and one or two mobile boxes will probably be sold this Christmas,” says Emma Hernell.

Publicerad: 19 December, 2019