A recent GlobeSt article covered the October episode of the ‘What’s in Store’ podcast. Read the full article here.
A new set of performance indicators is reshaping how retail investors and landlords evaluate tenant strength. In a recent episode of ‘What’s in Store‘, Chris Ressa and CBRE’s Karly Iacono explained that while sales per square foot and foot traffic still matter, they are no longer sufficient on their own.
Retailers are now measuring market capture — how a physical store lifts online sales in its surrounding trade area — to quantify the store’s digital halo effect. Visits per square foot is emerging as another key metric, enabled by granular location data that allows investors to compare performance across categories. As Ressa noted, benchmarks are coming and visit-based KPIs may soon become as important to open-air retail as sales metrics once were to enclosed malls.
The show also highlighted the growing role of psychographics and social engagement. Retailers are segmenting by motivations and values, not just demographics, and using loyalty and location data to adapt in-store strategy. Social impressions and digital buzz are increasingly part of the scorecard, influencing brand decisions even as measurement tools mature.
The takeaway: brick-and-mortar success is now defined by more than sales. The strongest operators will be those who convert physical traffic into multi-channel value, demonstrate measurable digital activation, and show command of the data that explains why customers buy — not just how much.
Watch the full episode of ‘What’s in Store’ with Chris and Karly a the video below.
