Miami Street Commercial Corridor Action Plan 2000

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Retail Development Trends A challenge in any aging commercial area is trying to match modern site selection and stores/office configurations. As the Miami Village area strives to satisfy the needs of new retail/office space, it is important to recognize emerging trends in commercial area development. There are two emerging trends that are important in capitalizing on the potential of the Miami Village area. The first trend, clustering, is the grouping of similar businesses in close proximity to each other. For years, it has been common for businesses like fast food restaurants, grocery stores and automobile dealerships to choose locations adjacent. to or across the street from their fiercest competitors. Those concentrations of like businesses created powerful draws to customers wanting to explore all options before purchasing or make a last minute decision based on a quick assessment of shopping options. Mall developers and independent retailers usually took the opposite approach, spreading like businesses throughout a shopping area so that customers would be exposed to the offering of a variety of merchants and potentially make unplanned purchases. As consumers have become more time crunched, providers of all merchandise categories are realizing that they can be more successful by clustering with like businesses. New malls have home improvement areas, Jr. apparel areas, career apparel areas, extensive food courts and other convenience shopping areas. Applying this concept to the Miami Street Corridor suggests opportunities to add more businesses similar to the existing businesses, restaurants, vintage clothing, furniture, home improvement and personal services. The development of Lifestyle Centers is a second important trend. Lifestyle Centers are groups of 5 to 25 stores that target consumers who share a similar income level and activities. Essentially, they are the opposite of the cluster in that each store carries a different category of merchandise. These centers succeed because the target consumers have all of their favorite stores at one -stop. An example of a Lifestyle Center based on a corridor, is mixing a variety of craft focused stores with a home -style restaurant and an unfinished furniture seller. Logical additional stores for this area might be a family hair care center. Miami Street Trade Area The market for businesses along Miami Street, its retail trade area, is based on a number of factors, including the mix and draw of existing stores; quality, quantity and location of competitive shopping areas; ease of access; physical and perceptual barriers. Customarily, the trade area for shopping districts is divided into a nearby primary trade area which provides from 50 to 80% of each store's business and a more distant total trade area that adds all but a fraction of the balance of each store's sales. Miami Street Commercial Corridor Revitalization Action Plan December 2000 Page 4