May 26, 2021
Arkansas Municipal League’s City and Town Magazine
Community Development Institute Podcast
Retail recruitment critical for community development
One commonality among all communities is that we want our communities to grow, thrive and prosper. To achieve that vision, each community sets its own unique community and economic development goals. Yet, retail development and recruitment are critical pieces of the puzzle in every community.
Consider these statistics:
- One in four jobs in America are retail related.
- 98 percent of small businesses are retail related.
- 78 percent of consumers prefer to shop in-store.
- A typical quick service restaurant (QSR) brings 15 jobs to a community
Retail is a foundational piece of the economic ecosystem in our communities, and it’s often a place to begin to build your local economy. But if you want to get serious about retail development and recruitment, where do you start?
TIPS & TRICKS
Podcast
Retail tactics for community development and thriving on the Community Development Institute
ARTICLE
Retail Strategies is a retail recruitment and downtown revitalization firm headquartered in the South. Clay Craft, vice president of client services, and Jenn Gregory, president of downtown strategies, shared with us some tips and tricks cities and towns can use to bolster retail recruitment and downtown development:
Focus on increasing quality of life and place.
In simple terms: Make your community a better place to live. Know where your community stands in education, crime rates, infrastructure and other key areas. Focus on beautification, walkability, connectivity and accessibility, especially in your downtown area. Business owners want to invest in places where they and their families can live, work and play. You need to entice them to come to your community.
Create residential density.
Consider zoning that supports mixed-use development. Imagine spaces in your community where people work, shop and eat in the same place creating a 24/7 ecosystem of commerce and activity. If mixed-use development is not the right fit for your community, focus on connecting neighborhoods to surrounding downtown or commerce-rich areas.
Know your market.
Identify your assets and positive attributes and communicate them effectively. Familiarize yourself with the language that national retailers speak. They want to know specifics: your population numbers, the traffic count in specific areas of town throughout the day, and household income.
Read the Article on Page 38
Arkansas Municipal League’s City and Town Magazine
More Retail Articles by Retail Strategies
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Discount retailers are expanding rapidly because consumers are more price-conscious and retailers are adapting with smaller formats and efficient operating models. For communities, this creates an opportunity: many discount and off-price brands are actively looking for new locations, especially in secondary markets where population growth and available space support expansion. Table of contents Why value-focused… Read more: Why Discount Retailers Are Expanding So Fast (And What It Means for Your Community) - Is Brick-and-Mortar Retail Still Growing? What the Data Says for 2026
Yes. Brick-and-mortar retail remains the dominant channel in the United States, accounting for the majority of consumer spending. While e-commerce continues to grow, physical stores still capture roughly 84% of retail sales, driven by grocery, restaurants, services, and experiential retail. Communities that understand how retail formats are evolving can still attract new stores and investment.… Read more: Is Brick-and-Mortar Retail Still Growing? What the Data Says for 2026 - Retail Trends for 2026: What Communities Need to Know (and What to Do Next)
Retail in 2026 is still strong, but it’s changing shape. Communities will see more demand for value-driven retail, smaller store footprints, experiential tenants, and grocery-anchored growth—while many legacy big-box and oversized pharmacy formats continue to shrink or turn over. The communities that win will be the ones that can prove demand with credible market data,… Read more: Retail Trends for 2026: What Communities Need to Know (and What to Do Next) - How Cities Can Work Better With Brokers: Lessons From ICSC’s Virtual Series
Economic developers and brokers share the same goal: stronger tax revenue, more business activity, and a healthy local economy. But the day-to-day experience of each group looks very different. That difference can slow recruitment — or, with the proper habits, make it faster. During ICSC’s Virtual Series, Retail Strategies’ President Lacy Beasley moderated a panel… Read more: How Cities Can Work Better With Brokers: Lessons From ICSC’s Virtual Series
