NEW YORK CITY – Data has become more important than ever forretail investors trying to compete and remain relevant amidchanging consumer demands for brick and mortar and e-commerceshopping platforms, Meghann Martindale, CBRE's global headof retail research, tells GlobeSt.com.

The commercial real estate services firm is actively bulking upits retail research to provide information to its brokers andclients about trade areas, asset types, and market exposure tooptimize their position and operations in the changing market,Martindale said.

"Retail assets are far more complex in today'slandscape.  Investors and occupiers alike must understandtraditional evaluations such as how their sites fit into the tradearea, competition, and how to maximize shopper traffic and sales,"Martindale said.

With the data collected, retailers have to apply the insights tomaintain and bring in new customers and adapt as needed as thesector innovates if they want to maintain cash flows, according toMartindale. "They now must also understand where they lie along thesupply chain and what the ongoing shifts in the omnichannel anddigital world mean to their brand and the consumer experience inorder to remain relevant and productive," she said.

The retail sector has realized it must create an overallenvironment that supports its sales and that includes propertytechnology and data analytics, Lee Menifee, head of AmericasInvestment Research at PGIM Real Estate, told GlobeSt.com ina recent article. "The winners and losers will shake outdepending on how well capitalized they are and how much expertisethey have," he said. "It's still early stages but even what we areseeing now reinforces the need to invest in technology that allowsyou to operate a property better and more efficiently."