We’ve been talking a lot about connected retail experiences, but let’s face it: retail is a fairly broad term. It’s made to encompass all forms of selling goods and services to the public. For example, your daily coffee order is considered retail. However, so are your dry cleaning and specialty service needs.
For the office, this is no exception. So many merchants and vendors fall under the retail umbrella, empowering property teams to take advantage of endless opportunities that delight tenants and employees, add value to the workplace, and differentiate their properties.
With this in mind, we’ve identified 10 categories of retail that are most relevant to office communities and their surrounding neighborhoods. Here are the types of local merchants and vendors you should consider partnering with to enhance experiences for all members of your building community:
Department Stores and Supermarkets
Department stores and supermarkets can offer a large variety of products, from clothing to groceries to alcohol. These locations are the epitome of convenience; shoppers can go to a single location, get everything they need at once, and continue throughout their day without having to worry about time constraints or visiting multiple locations.
Specialty Stores
Speciality stores can prove to be extremely desirable for office tenants, due to their ability to hone in on providing solutions for specific needs. For example, partnering with an office store like Staples, where tenants can access all of their office supply and furniture needs, can ensure that your building community never runs out of the most vital items that support their best work.
Electronics and Appliance Stores
Similar to specialty stores, electronics and appliance stores like Best Buy can help power your tenants’ work days by making sure their office tools and technology are always up-to-date and well-maintained.
Health and Beauty Shops
Connecting with services that focus on health and beauty — like local nail salons, massage parlors, or hairdressers — can help building communities take a break from work, focus on personal wellness, and feel more confident throughout the day. They can also save tenants and their employees time on necessary
Hospitality Services
Bringing experiences like dine-in restaurants, bars, and even hotels to your tenants can achieve a few things: 1) They ensure that your community can enjoy personalized services in or around the workplace, 2) They allow individuals to unwind during or after the work day, and 3) Hotel options can seamlessly assist tenants and their guests who may be visiting from out of town.
Convenience Stores and Pharmacies
Often provided through a single, efficient location, convenience stores and pharmacies like CVS can help tenants with their more miscellaneous needs. Not only can they purchase birthday cards, quick snacks, or extra pens, but they can also be proactive about their health by picking up prescriptions, over-the-counter medications, and other health-focused products.
Dry Cleaning and Laundromat Services
Going beyond offering products that tenants can purchase can really surprise and delight your building community. Tenants live very busy lives, which is why bringing the amenities that they can access at home — such as dry cleaning and laundromat facilities — to the workplace can make your property shine against its competition.
Daycare and Pet-sitting Services
Office locations that offer daycare or pet-sitting services are extremely valuable to workers who have families or pets to take care of at home. Not only will having a nearby or on-site location relieve a huge burden on those individuals, but it will also allow them to be more productive at work as they rest-assured that their loved ones are in good care.
Fitness Services
Already a common office amenity, relationships with local or on-site fitness facilities, yoga studios, cycle locations, and more will help tenants focus on their health and wellbeing while promoting positive, healthy lifestyle habits. These habits are beneficial to productivity and help create a happy workplace culture.
Post Office Services
Last but certainly not least, post office services provide a very necessary service to office communities be it for business or personal reasons. Having seamless access to such services can create efficiencies for business and save tenants time in their personal lives so they can focus on more meaningful projects and errands.
Of course, the average workplace will not have access to every retail category on this list. However, landlords and property teams that understand the value that local and on-site businesses can bring to the workforce will be able to create destination-worthy environments that people will look forward to working and spending time in.
Curious about connecting your workplace with local retail services? Check out our new industry guide, Connected Retail: How digital retail services and solutions are elevating the workplace and local communities.
