Select Insights

A collection of ideas, strategies, and real-world lessons to help you make better commercial real estate decisions.

What National Retailers See That Local Businesses Often Miss

One of the questions I’m asked most often is, “How do national retailers approach site selection differently?”

The truth is, they don’t always get it right. But after years of working with national brands and growing local businesses, I’ve noticed one significant difference.

They don’t fall in love with a building.

In fact, they often don’t even need to walk the interior space during the early stages of evaluating a location.

To them, it’s simply a box.

They want to know the ceiling height, the loading configuration, the parking layout, the age and capacity of the mechanical systems, and whether the economics work. Once those fundamentals check out, their construction team can figure out the rest.

Instead, they spend far more time evaluating the market than the building.

They Build a Market Strategy Before Choosing a Site

National retailers don’t usually search for one location.

They develop a strategy for an entire market.

First, they determine how many stores they believe a metropolitan area can support.

Then they identify the trade areas that best match their ideal customer based on household income, population density, traffic patterns, and purchasing behavior.

Only after they’ve identified the right markets do they begin evaluating individual sites.

They Follow the Customer

National retailers spend an incredible amount of time studying customer behavior before they ever consider available real estate.

They’re asking questions like:

• Where are our customers already shopping?

• How far are they willing to drive?

• What other businesses do they visit before or after us?

• Does this location naturally fit into their daily routine?

  
  

The real estate comes second.

The customer comes first.

They Understand That Rent Is an Investment, Not Just an Expense

One of the biggest misconceptions I see is businesses trying to determine how much rent they can afford before they know how much revenue a location can realistically produce.

National retailers often work backward.

They estimate potential sales first.

Then they determine what occupancy cost makes financial sense.

A location with higher rent may actually be the better investment if it generates substantially higher sales.

Cheap rent isn’t necessarily a bargain.

They Care About Their Neighbors

One of the most important factors in site selection is tenant mix—often called co-tenancy.

The businesses around you influence who visits, how long they stay, and how frequently they return.

Strong neighboring businesses create momentum.

They reinforce customer confidence and often become part of the overall experience.

I frequently tell clients they aren’t just leasing a space—they’re joining an ecosystem.

The right neighbors can elevate your business.

The wrong neighbors can quietly work against it.

They Think Bigger Than a Single Neighborhood

Local businesses often begin by looking close to home.

National retailers think in trade areas.

Sometimes the best location isn’t five minutes away.

It’s twenty minutes away in a destination where customers already expect to shop, dine, and spend time.

Here in Kansas City, developments like Village West at Legends have become true regional destinations because people intentionally travel there—not for one store, but for the overall experience.

That’s a very different way of thinking about location.

They Look Beyond Traffic Counts

Traffic counts are helpful.

But they rarely tell the whole story.

I’d rather understand how people actually use a place.

Do they linger?

Do they visit multiple businesses during one trip?

Is it easy to get in and out?

Will customers naturally discover your business while they’re already there?

Those questions often reveal far more than the number of cars driving past each day.

The Takeaway

One of the things I enjoy most about commercial real estate is helping businesses step back from the available spaces and think strategically.

The best location isn’t always the newest building.

Or the cheapest rent.

Or even the busiest intersection.

It’s the place where your customers already want to be—and where your business has the greatest opportunity to thrive over the long term.

That’s one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from working with sophisticated national retailers, and it’s a perspective that businesses of every size can benefit from.

— Sheryl Vickers, CCIM