America has too many malls.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve recently blogged that many traditional brick-and-mortar retailers are being threatened with “economic destruction” by their advantaged online competition. In an interview with Bloomberg TV, anchorwoman Nicole Lapin asked about the implications of this dynamic on retail real estate. I said I hadn\u2019t studied it, but I thought the ramifications would be very big and very negative (I believe the phrase “apocalyptic” was used).<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve since had the opportunity to spend some time looking at this issue, and I believe we\u2019re seeing clear signs that the e-commerce revolution is seriously impacting commercial real estate. Online retailers are relentlessly gaining share in many retail categories, and offline players are fighting for progressively smaller pieces of the retail pie. A number of physical retailers have already succumbed to online competition including Circuit City, Borders, CompUSA, Tower Records and Blockbuster…..<\/p>\n