Commercial real estate market statistics point to several new emerging trends that have painted a technology-driven forecast for the next several years. With a complete digital revolution underway, the office sector can expect an increase in the need for technology partnerships to successfully enhance communications with their end-users and create technology-driven experiences. This is further supported by recent data that suggests that on average, 58% of REIT respondents have increased their intent to partner with proptech companies to fulfill this very need. As the industry continues to become more digitized, commercial property data will follow suit and reflect more modern, tech-savvy office experiences.
Tenant Experience: A Business Imperative
Deloitte’s commercial real estate market predictions for the year 2021 indicate that the biggest changes to the industry all involve technology. Previously seen as a “nice-to-have,” digital transformation and tenant experience are a business imperative for owners and property teams. New commercial real estate market statistics reveal that most respondents (56%) believe the pandemic has uncovered shortcomings in their company’s digital capabilities. Therefore, companies are planning to ramp up their digital transformation initiatives, with 53% of respondents including digital tenant experience as a core competency in these efforts.
The survey also suggests that “companies should increase investment in technologies that can serve as building blocks of their digital transformation efforts […] About one-half (48%) of respondents who said their company is using digital technologies, such as interactive mobile apps, to increase communication with tenants or end-users, plan to increase investment on digital channels over the next year.”
Emerging Tech-Enabled Trends
In our The State of Tenant Experience in 2021 industry report, we dive into the new trends and happenings we expect for the near future, while also discussing how adopting a data-driven approach alongside end-to-end workplace solutions will guarantee success in the long-term through a customer-centric focus on the tenant experience. Besides technology aiding the return to office — which we sat down to discuss in a recent LoopNet feature entitled Proptech Aims to Help Manage Commercial Real Estate in Pandemic Era — we foresee three major trends generating value for a tenant population that has already adjusted to more tech-enabled and diversified workplace experiences:
- Streamlining Communications: Tenants and their employees placed a heavy emphasis on the importance of communication for their return to office strategies, as well as the need for more content within their tenant engagement apps that support this. According to our tenant survey, direct landlord-tenant informative pieces of content — such as spotlight sections highlighting building protocols and local updates — stood out as being the most useful “feature” of our Tenant Experience Platform. Additionally, JLL research reports that COVID-19 has driven employees to rethink their priorities in terms of quality of life, human interaction, and personal values. Companies that strengthen connections and provide communications to establish a clear purpose for the workplace will be well-positioned to retain and attract talent.
- More Touchless Experiences: Last year, we predicted the rise of IoT and touchless technologies for the office. This year, we can verify that tenants are still looking for these capabilities due to new health and safety protocols. These concerns are directly tied to a fear of the unknown: people are still questioning their comfort and safety in the aftermath of a pandemic. A large part of the solution for this issue is adapting your portfolio to accommodate additional, tech-enabled features that will allow them to steer clear of congested areas and communal surfaces, while also creating frictionless experiences that make the workplace easy and enjoyable.
- Flex Space and a Campus Feel: According to data collected by the CBRE Research Client Survey in June of 2020, 70% of respondents claimed that more flexible work is expected. This has led tenant companies to explore new, creative office space models that afford employees the ability to choose where and when they work based on personal preferences. This topic of conversation has also come up with HqO customers, who are looking for more ways to offer flexibility to tenants while also establishing a campus-like feel through offering shared amenities and office space across their assets.
Bringing Commercial Real Estate Market Trends to Your Office
These new emerging trends in real estate have painted a technology-driven commercial real estate forecast for 2021 and beyond. With a complete digital revolution underway, the office sector will continue to increase its technology partnerships to successfully enhance communications with building occupants and create technology-driven experiences. As the industry continues to become more digitized, commercial real estate trends in 2021 will follow suit and reflect more modern, tech-savvy office experiences.
For more information on how HqO can help with these needs, schedule a free demo today.
