Skip to content
‹ Back to IndustriesRetail

COVID-19 Continues to Change the Retail Real Estate Landscape 

On this episode of Dirt Work, we were joined by Austin Clinkscales, Principal at Ladera Properties, a real estate developer, investment firm and operator focused on the retail sector in Texas and Oklahoma, to discuss how COVID-19 has impacted that already ever-changing retail real estate market. Retail is a tough business because of inherent limitations to control…

This story was produced through MarketScale. See how Retail teams put it to work with Sales Enablement.

·
Share
COVID-19 Continues to Change the Retail Real Estate Landscape 

Free workspace

Turn your Retail expertise into content.

Record interviews, organize footage, and write with AI on a free trial of the MarketScale platform for qualifying companies. No demo required, no credit card.

Try it Free

On this episode of Dirt Work, we were joined by Austin Clinkscales, Principal at Ladera Properties, a real estate developer, investment firm and operator focused on the retail sector in Texas and Oklahoma, to discuss how COVID-19 has impacted that already ever-changing retail real estate market. Retail is a tough business because of inherent limitations to control consumer behavior and has been impacted by many market shifts in the last several decades including the dot-com boom, the 08/09 recession and the emergence of retail alternatives such as e-commerce.

Clinkscales believes that the silver lining of the coronavirus disruption is opportunities created by reduced competition going after new development opportunities as others in the market are working to control pandemic-related damage to their existing portfolios.

COVID-19 has continued to change the retail landscape across malls, power-centers (e.g. shopping centers anchored by a Walmart, Target, etc.), neighborhood retail and restaurants. While the nuances impacting each vertical differ Clinkscales believes that liquidity, technology, health, and general ability to increase consumer confidence will separate the winners and losers following the pandemic. For listeners interested in learning more about changes in the retail section, Austin recommends CBRE’s Global Retail Research channel.

Your experts belong here

Every story in MarketScale Retail starts with a company putting its merchandising leads, store operations teams, and category managers on the record. Buyers are already reading this topic. The only question is whose experts they find.

Category buyers trust operators, so your merchandising leads shorten the distance between first search and first call.

Book DemoSee how it works15 minutes, straight to a calendar.
B2B Weekly

The week in Retail, and sixteen other industries, every Monday.

Ten stories, one-line takes, five minutes. Free.

Retail: are you visible to AI?

Before they reach out, Retail buyers ask AI engines which vendors to trust. Explore how your experts, customers, and partners can become useful content for buyers and AI search.

Free Trial

You just read one Retail expert. Your company is full of them.

This article was produced through MarketScale. The same platform turns your merchandising leads, store operations teams, and category managers into the articles, video, and social content Retail buyers are searching for. Start a free trial and see it with your own people. For qualifying companies, no credit card, no demo required.

NPS +73 · 1,000+ creators · 38+ countries

What your free trial includes

Hands-on access to the MarketScale platform
Media requests to your crowd, remote recording, AI writing tools
No demo required. No credit card.
For qualifying companies. Company confirmation required.

More Retail Insights

Arko CEO says remodeled stores are generating low double-digit sales growth

Arko CEO says remodeled stores are generating low double-digit sales growth

Arko Corp. Chairman, President and CEO Arie Kotler said that, based on initial results, remodeled stores are generating low double-digit sales growth. Eleven remodels were completed through the third quarter, and Arko expects to finish more than 25 by the end of 2026. In Q3 2026, in-store promotional spending rose about 16% while merchandise margin reached 34.8%. Arko is shifting its focus and capital toward its core portfolio of company-operated stores.

  • 01Arko raised in-store promotional spending about 16% in Q3 2026 and still widened merchandise margin 110 basis points to 34.8%, its 12th straight year-over-year gain.
  • 02Early fas craves remodels are generating low double-digit sales growth, but on only 11 stores; the retained portfolio as a whole grew merchandise sales about 0.8% excluding cigarettes, so the lift has yet to reach the totals.
  • 03The number to watch is retained-store merchandise growth as the remodel count passes 25: if it climbs, the food-led format is scaling; if it stays near 1%, the early results came from a small sample.

Nov 8, 2026

Ulta is marketing to AI agents and shoppers

Ulta is marketing to AI agents and shoppers

Ulta segments customers by motivations (not just demographics) and uses non-purchase signals like social activity and store behavior to inform personalization and messaging.

  • 01Ulta treats AI agents as new voices it cannot control, similar to how it manages influencer and store associate recommendations, shaping what agents know rather than what they say.
  • 02Ulta uses motivation-based segmentation and non-purchase signals to drive personalization, built on loyalty data, while it works out what AI agents need.
  • 03Ulta says research shows young consumers who use AI tools and chatbots still crave coming into stores and are more likely to visit, raising the pressure on stores to earn the trip.

Nov 7, 2026

Amazon lets shoppers text Alexa for Shopping to place orders and track prices

Amazon lets shoppers text Alexa for Shopping to place orders and track prices

Amazon is rolling out text-message access to Alexa for Shopping, its AI shopping agent, starting with a small group of U.S. customers by invitation. The agent can search, compare, buy items, track prices, reorder products, and send alerts across text and other Amazon platforms.

  • 01Texting with Alexa for Shopping rolls out to a small group of U.S. customers by invitation, expanding to millions in the coming weeks
  • 02The agent can reorder items, set up weekly grocery orders, watch for price drops, show up to a year of price history, and send new-release alerts
  • 03Requests started over text carry over to the Amazon Shopping app, Amazon.com, and Alexa-enabled devices

Nov 6, 2026

Explore More Retail Insights

Read more expert perspectives from across Retail.

Browse Retail Hub

For B2B teams

Your experts could be publishing here

Stories like this one run on content MarketScale captures from real practitioners. See how your team's expertise becomes coverage in Retail and beyond.

Book a Demo

Or call us. No forms required. We pick up. 214-945-2512