BIRMINGHAM, AL (September 2, 2026) – The City of Palm Desert participated in a virtual Retail Academy training session led by Retail Strategies, a national retail recruitment and economic development firm. The session focused on the city’s retail data and preparation for the upcoming ICSC Western conference.
Palm Desert is a strong retail market with regional draw, and the city’s team recognized an opportunity to pair that strength with better data and a more structured recruitment approach. The virtual training walked staff through their own market data and how to put it to work in conversations with brokers, developers, and retailers.
Topics covered included monitoring the performance of current tenants to anticipate and address potential vacancies, identifying brands and categories not yet represented in the market, and using demographic and traffic data to support site-specific opportunities. The city is also pursuing a smaller-format grocery store for North Palm Desert, a segment that has grown as national grocers move toward compact store formats in infill locations.
“Palm Desert has the fundamentals that retailers look for,” said Jessica Bohlen of Retail Strategies. “What the team needed was the data and the framework to tell that story. This training gave them a clear picture of their market and a plan they can put to work right away at ICSC Western.”
Martin Alvarez, Director of Economic Development for the City of Palm Desert, said the timing was intentional.
“Going into ICSC Western, it’s important that we are armed with the right data and the right preparation as we target strategic businesses to fill our market gaps and focus on momentum to develop remaining key commercial opportunity sites,” Alvarez said. “The Retail Academy was the first step in making sure we have the right tools in the toolbox to successfully implement a targeted retail attraction plan.”
Retail Strategies will continue to support the city with market analysis, including ongoing reporting on tenant performance and recruitment targets.
About Retail Academy
Retail Academy is a program developed from a leading national retail advisory firm, Retail Strategies. The program assists communities in strengthening their retail landscape. Communities will be trained and equipped with the tools and education necessary to attract new retailers to their markets, while providing support to their existing local businesses. To learn more visit https://www.retailstrategies.com/retailacademy/.
