The consumer behaviors behind today's strongest retail trends and what they mean for retailers, landlords, and shopping centers.

Retail traffic is telling a very different story than most headlines suggest.

According to Ethan Chernofsky, Chief Marketing Officer at Placer.ai, consumers aren't abandoning stores. They're redefining how they use them.

One of the biggest shifts is happening inside everyday shopping trips. Consumers are visiting more retailers within the same category, particularly grocery, while spending less time in each store. Instead of trying to be everything to everyone, retailers with a clearly defined value proposition are winning over today's more intentional shopper.

Chris Ressa and Ethan explore why physical retail has become more valuable, not less. While ecommerce remains an essential part of the customer journey, stores are becoming even more important as fulfillment hubs, discovery engines, and places where brands can build lasting customer relationships. Stores remain the most profitable channel for many retailers while often delivering the best value for consumers. That alignment creates a powerful long term advantage that extends well beyond convenience.

Even mall traffic continues to surprise analysts, especially among younger shoppers. Gen Z is proving that physical retail still serves an important social function, reinforcing the growing importance of placemaking and creating destinations people actually want to visit.

Whether it's Starbucks extending pumpkin spice season, Dairy Queen creating a spring traffic surge with Free Cone Day, or retailers capitalizing on major cultural moments, the lesson is clear: great operators don't simply react to consumer behavior, they influence it.

For retailers, landlords, and anyone watching the future of physical commerce, the message is simple: stores matter more than ever. The retailers and shopping centers that understand changing consumer behavior, and respond with intentional experiences, convenience, and operational excellence, will be the ones that continue to outperform.

What You’ll Hear

• Why the smartest retailers create demand instead of waiting for it
• The surprising shift in how consumers are shopping today
• Why physical stores are becoming more valuable, not less
• How Starbucks and Dairy Queen turn ordinary days into traffic drivers
• Why Gen Z is spending more time at malls
• The comeback stories proving great brands are hard to beat

Chapters

00:00 – Meet Ethan Chernofsky

How Placer.ai uses location data to understand consumer behavior.

01:08 – The new rules of retail traffic

Why shoppers are making more trips while spending less time in stores.

04:58 – Why physical stores keep winning

The overlooked value physical retail creates for retailers and consumers alike.

09:41 – Discovery still happens in stores

Why the in-store experience continues to drive purchases and loyalty.

12:13 – Gen Z is bringing malls back

What younger shoppers reveal about the future of placemaking.

13:42 – Convenience vs. placemaking

When retailers should prioritize speed—and when they should encourage longer visits.

17:19 – Retail lessons from around the world

How culture shapes shopping behavior across global markets.

18:45 – Back-to-school traffic winners

The retailers and brands positioned to benefit this season.

20:48 – How great retailers create demand

What Starbucks, Dairy Queen, and other brands can teach every retailer.

23:24 – The traffic stories nobody saw coming

Unexpected trends shaping home improvement and retail performance.

26:12 – Never count out great brands

Why Target, Starbucks, and other leaders continue to find their way back.

27:23 – Looking ahead

What today's traffic trends could mean for the holiday shopping season.

The questions everyone new to retail real estate needs to ask.

Sometimes the best conversations start with someone willing to ask questions.

That's exactly what happened when Chris Ressa handed the microphone to DLC Marketing Coordinator Jordyn Levine.

Retail Retold usually features founders, CEOs, and industry leaders. This time, the conversation turned inward. Drawing on conversations with Chris, producing the podcast each week, and experiencing retail real estate through fresh eyes, Jordyn asked the questions many people outside the industry are curious about. Why do people think online shopping dominates retail? What actually creates value? Why do physical stores still matter? And how will AI reshape retail real estate?

The conversation is about more than the answers. It's a reflection of a culture where curiosity is encouraged, ideas can come from anywhere, and asking thoughtful questions is just as important as having the answers. That mindset leads to better conversations, stronger teams, and ultimately, better business.

Chris shares why physical retail continues to outperform common perception, why shopping centers are intentionally built as ecosystems rather than collections of stores, and why technology should enhance, not replace, human judgment. From social media and site selection to omnichannel retail and digitally native brands opening stores, the discussion explores the forces shaping retail today while keeping people at the center of every decision.

The conversation also offers advice for anyone entering retail real estate. Chris explains why understanding trade areas, developing strong people skills, and staying intellectually curious are more valuable than trying to have all the answers. His closing thought captures the spirit of both the discussion and the culture behind it: be curious before you're certain.

This isn't just a conversation about the future of retail. It's a reminder that the best ideas often begin with someone curious enough to ask the next question.

What You’ll Hear

• Why people overestimate the impact of e-commerce on retail
• Whether social media is changing where retailers choose to open
• What physical stores still offer that technology can't replace
• How landlords build shopping centers that work as complete ecosystems
• Where AI fits into the future of retail real estate
• Chris's predictions for the next decade of retail

Chapters

00:00 — A different kind of Retail Retold

Chris hands the microphone to DLC Marketing Coordinator Jordyn Levine for a conversation driven by curiosity.

02:08 — Why retail is more misunderstood than ever

Jordyn kicks off the conversation by exploring why consumers continue to overestimate the impact of e-commerce on physical retail.

08:34 — Is social media shaping the future of retail?

A discussion on how digital discovery is influencing consumer behavior and retail strategy.

15:16 — Why physical stores still matter

Chris explains what brick-and-mortar offers that technology can't replace.

22:48 — Building shopping centers that actually work

Jordyn shifts the conversation to what makes a shopping center successful and how landlords build complementary tenant mixes.

30:15 — Can AI pick the next great retail location?

Chris discusses where AI is transforming site selection and where human judgment still leads.

37:42 — Looking ahead

Chris shares the trends he believes will shape the next decade of retail.

44:50 — Closing thoughts

A conversation about curiosity, continuous learning, and the value of fresh perspectives.

Commercial real estate has entered a new era where execution, partnership, and long-term thinking have become the industry's greatest competitive advantages.

In commercial real estate, everyone talks about capital. Not enough people talk about partnership.

That's what makes the relationship between DLC and Temerity Strategic Partners different.

Recorded from DLC's new media studio in Elmsford, New York, this special episode of Retail Retold features guest host Adam Ifshin, Founder and CEO of DLC, in conversation with Bruce Cohen, Founder and Co-CEO of Temerity Strategic Partners.

Together, they explore how today's higher interest rate environment has reshaped commercial real estate, shifting the advantage from financial engineering to operational excellence. Bruce explains why Temerity was built to partner with proven operators rather than simply invest in real estate, while Adam shares the operator's perspective on creating long-term value through disciplined execution, relationships, and relentless focus on cash flow.

The conversation goes beyond the numbers. Adam and Bruce discuss how their partnership evolved from mutual skepticism into deep trust, why alignment between operators and capital partners has never been more important, and how culture, leadership, and succession planning have become meaningful competitive advantages.

The market will continue to change. But the firms that outperform won't simply have access to capital. They'll have the right partners, the right people, and the discipline to execute when it matters most.

Because capital can always find another deal.

Finding the right partner is much harder.

What You’ll Hear

• Why today's market rewards value creation over financial engineering
• What sophisticated capital looks for in an operator
• Why retail remains one of the strongest sectors in commercial real estate
• How the DLC–Temerity partnership was built
• Why culture, leadership, and execution drive long-term value
• The qualities that define companies built to last

Chapters

01:43 — Welcome to the new studio

Adam Ifshin introduces Retail Retold's new podcast studio and welcomes Bruce Cohen.

03:06 — From capital allocator to operator advocate

Bruce explains why decades in capital markets led him to believe operators create the real value.

05:30 — Why Temerity exists

The entrepreneurial journey behind launching Temerity Strategic Partners.

10:07 — Solving operators' biggest capital challenge

Bruce explains the GP capital model and why operators need more than money.

15:14 — Why retail rose to the top

How Temerity's research process identified retail as one of the strongest sectors.

21:09 — What capital misunderstood about retail

Bruce shares how DLC changed his perspective on leasing, cash flow, and value creation.

23:51 — Why DLC became the partner

The process that turned skepticism into conviction.

28:28 — What culture revealed

Bruce explains what stood out after meeting the entire DLC leadership team.

34:56 — Three traits of elite operators

Bruce's framework for identifying firms built for long-term success.

39:04 — Building businesses that outlast their founders

A discussion about succession, the next generation, and creating enduring companies.

42:13 — When business becomes real partnership

How a capital relationship evolved into a lasting friendship.

47:23 — Closing thoughts

Adam reflects on the partnership and wraps up the conversation.