Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/863214
Beth Azor www.bethazor.com Tel: 954-615-0615 beth@azoradvisoryservices.com 36 S C T / S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 7 Though information officers continue to focus on basic tech-infrastructure needs, increasingly more of their atten- tion is given over to such things as the delivery of portable data-analytics tools to personnel out in the field. "We have gotten a lot more sophisticated, and mobility has been the largest technology driver," said Dave Cole, vice president and chief technology officer at Devonshire REIT, which owns a shopping center portfolio valued at some $500 million. Hav- ing started with only $6 million in assets and nine employ- ees at its founding in 2009, Devonshire has four times that many employees today, and its tech sophistication has grown in keeping with head count. "As our portfolio expanded and covers more and more geographical area, we have a lot of property managers and leasing agents who are traveling more, so the ability for them to be mobile and have access to all the data and information is critical." This year JLL's retail division began using JLL Blackbird, which applies virtual technology to enhance research data for the firm's retail clients. "We can now show our clients virtually what their tour is going to look like without them having to leave the boardroom, which cuts time significantly and leads to faster decisions," said Michael Startin, JLL's vice president and director of geographic information systems. "This shortens the decision-making cycle for our clients." At the store level, meanwhile, chief information officers help retail real estate firms bridge the digital divide between online retailing and physical stores. Washington Prime is set- ting aside sections in the common areas of its shopping cen- ters to enable online retailers to display physical wares. This past spring Washington Prime introduced Amazon Locker units at 50 of its properties and installed digital screens alongside for display of promotional offers and the like. "We've got lots of data, and we're trying to figure out how to use it to make the shoppers' experience what they need it to be," said VanPatten. "It has to be collaborative. We have a marketing steering committee made up of our specialty, We've gotten a lot more sophisticated. Mobility has been the largest technology driver ONLY A FEW MONTHS LEFT IN 2017! Meet Beth at the ICSC Western Conference and ICSC Southeast Conference Call NOW to make an appointment! Are your leasing agents meeting their goals? If not, have Beth come in and jazz them up! Beth shares practical advice that she uses daily to fill her own shopping centers — she walks the walk! From the editors of Shopping Centers Today, SCTWeek is an e-newsletter delivered to your inbox every Friday morning with the week's most important news and announcements. Sign up at www.icsc.org/sct/sct-week