ICSC’s New Platform Helps Brands and Retailers Find Store Space
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Brick-and-mortar retail group ICSC on Tuesday announced the launch of a new, centralized digital platform that allows retailers and brands to search for open and available commercial properties at malls, shopping centers and marketplaces across the country.
In partnership with Realtors Property Resource LLC (RPR)—a subsidiary of the National Association of Realtors—the trade group has introduced Marketplaces IQ, a comprehensive tool available for free to ICSC members. The platform pulls together data from 15 real estate sources including OfficeSpace.com, TotalCommercial.com, Brevitas, Biproxi, Crexi and LandBroker MLS, amounting to about 800,000 commercial real estate listings and 56 million off-market properties for sale or lease. The tool also provides financial and market analysis to aid retailers in decision- and deal-making.
Stephanie Cegielski, ICSC’s vice president of research and public relations told Sourcing Journal that ICSC conducted a comprehensive survey of its membership, holding interviews and roundtable discussions to gather feedback on the digital tools that best support their businesses, and identify gaps in their capabilities. “Overwhelmingly, our members expressed the need for a platform that combined data from various sources in one place,” Cegielski said. “For example, many shared that when performing trade area research, they would access five to six different sources to collect data to complete their analysis.”
“Small businesses often don’t have the resources to purchase multiple data platforms to perform property search, industry and demographic analysis, and site selection,” Cegielski added. Moreover, small business owners “tend to be extremely focused on running their businesses and day-to-day operations,” limiting their time and ability to conduct searches and analyze options.
The group has “evaluated a number of solutions and potential partners over the years,” culminating in the debut of Marketplaces IQ. “In choosing to partner with RPR, we are giving our members access to a mature and stable platform built and advanced over many years,” she said. The aggregative tool provides a single source for listings and market data, from demographic, lifestyle and behavior metrics to average spending, sales volume, traffic counts, drive times from other landmarks and tax information about properties. In addition, ICSC member property listings will have the opportunity to reach up to 1.5 million potential platform users.
While e-commerce was king during the pandemic, physical retail has rebounded in recent seasons. “We continue to see brands expanding in physical spaces,” the research and PR lead added, noting that high customer acquisition costs are leading even digitally native, direct-to-consumer brands back to brick-and-mortar locations. “Having a physical presence drives brand awareness while also generating revenue,” she said. “Consumers want options and retailers with a physical presence see in an increase of 37 percent in online sales in that market as those customers take advantage of multiple channels.”
