44 — August 2026 — Retail Development — M id A tlantic Real Estate Journal
www.marej.com
R etail D evelopment
LMC Mid-Year Survey NORTH PLAINFIELD, NJ — Retailers continue to in - vest in technology, embrace ar -
Kyle Danielson closes CVS and Starbucks investment sales Horvath & Tremblay sells two retail properties for $9.028M
option at 50.3%, while curbside pickup saw the year’s largest gain, rising from 22.2% in 2025 to 37.8% in 2026. Local delivery also ticked up, from 32.5% to 39.9%, as retailers continue rounding out fulfill - ment options to meet evolving customer expectations. Overall retail performance remained stable, with 61.6% of respondents reporting year-to-date sales that were the same or higher than last year. In addition, 63.9% re - ported customer traffic was stable or higher. Retailers identified customer traffic (29.9%) and customer spending (23.4%) as the leading factors influencing sales performance, highlighting the importance of both attracting shoppers and encouraging spending once they are in-store. Cost pressures remain a top concern, with retailers citing cost of goods and supply chain costs (46.9%) and labor and staffing costs (45.5%) as their most significant operational challenges. Even so, retailers are prioritizing investments that improve efficiency and long-term resilience rather than pulling back. The survey also illustrates how retailers’ marketing strat - egies continue to evolve. Ins - tagram has become the most widely used social platform among survey respondents, growing from 35.4% in 2014 to 70.4% today. During the same period, Facebook usage declined from 93.9% to 62.4%, while TikTok — first measured in 2022 at 20.6% — has already doubled to 42.4%, reflecting retailers’ growing emphasis on visually driven and emerging digital platforms. Nearly 60% of respondents also reported using Google Business Profile, under - scoring the growing importance of local search visibility and online reputation management. “One of the greatest strengths of conducting this survey for more than a decade is the abil - ity to see how retailer priorities evolve alongside changing con - sumer behavior,” said Melissa Sievwright , VP of marketing and corporate communications for Levin Management Corpora - tion. “The shift in social media is one of the clearest examples. Over the years, we’ve seen retail - ers diversify from relying pri - marily on Facebook to embrac - ing platforms like Instagram and TikTok as they adapt their marketing strategies to better engage today’s consumers.” Looking ahead, retailers re - main optimistic about the sec - ond half of 2026, with more than continued on page 45
tificial intel - ligence (AI) and expand omnichannel services as they adapt to evolving consumer expectations, according to
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MBLER, PA/FRED - ERICKSBURG, VA — Horvath & Trem-
blay has completed the sale of two retail properties in the Mid-At - lantic for a to - tal of $9.028 million. Kyle Dan-
Matthew Harding
Levin Management Cor- poration’s (LMC) 2026 Mid- Year Retail Sentiment Survey. The survey gathered responses from more than 150 store man - agers and business operators across LMC’s retail portfolio, providing insight into retail performance, technology adop - tion and business expectations for the second half of 2026. Nearly half (47.8%) of respon - dents reported making new technology investments this year, continuing a three-year upward trend from 38% in 2024 and 44% in 2025. At the same time, AI has become increasing - ly mainstream, with two-thirds (66.4%) of retailers actively using, testing or exploring AI within their operations. More than one-quarter (25.6%) are already actively using AI, un - derscoring its transition from an emerging technology to a practical business tool. “Retailers continue to evolve alongside changing consumer expectations,” said Matthew Harding , chief executive offi - cer of Levin Management Cor - poration. “Our survey shows retailers making strategic investments in technology, AI and omnichannel capabilities that strengthen operations, enhance the customer experi - ence and position them for long-term growth. Even as re - tailers continue managing op - erating cost pressures, they’re investing in tools that improve efficiency while reinforcing the importance of the in-store experience.” Among retailers using or testing AI, marketing and content creation ranked as the leading application (53.2%), followed by data analysis and reporting (49.4%). Customer service and chatbots (41.8%) and inventory forecasting (27.8%) also ranked among the most common uses, illustrating how AI is increasingly being integrated into everyday retail operations to improve market - ing, customer engagement and business decision-making. The survey also points to con - tinued growth in omnichannel retailing. Buy Online, Pick Up In-Store (BOPIS) remains the most widely offered fulfillment
CVS at 7000 West Butler Pike in Ambler, PA
Kyle Danielson
ielson of Horvath & Tremblay completed the $6.328 million sale of a CVS at 7000 West Butler Pike in Ambler, PA. Hor - vath & Tremblay exclusively represented the seller. Constructed for CVS in 2012, the property consists of a 12,928 s/f building with a dedicated drive-through lane. CVS has more than 12 years remaining on its absolute NNN lease, with 10 five-year renewal options. The property is situated at the signalized intersection of Butler Pike and Skippack Pike, or PA Rte. 73, two primary roadways serving Ambler, Upper Dublin Twp. and surrounding Mont - gomery County communities. It benefits from strong visibility and accessibility within an es - tablished suburban retail cor - ridor surrounded by residential neighborhoods and neighbor - hood-serving retail. The trade area is also sup - ported by corporate, pharma - ceutical and professional office campuses throughout Upper Dublin, Fort Washington and adjacent submarkets. These facilities generate a substan - tial daytime population and
Starbucks at 1699 Carl D Silver Parkway in Fredericksburg, VA support consistent weekday demand for convenience retail and pharmacy services.
every five years throughout the primary term and at the start of each renewal option. The property is located at the signalized intersection of Carl D Silver Pkwy. and Cowan Blvd. within Central Park Plaza, a 2.2 million s/f power center. It offers strong visibility and frontage and is positioned to capture commut - ers traveling to I-95, less than one mile away. The site is surrounded by national retailers and res - taurants and is convenient to nearby residential neighbor - hoods, providing a built-in customer base. MAREJ
Danielson also facilitated the $2.7 million sale of a Starbucks at 1699 Carl D Silver Parkway in Fredericksburg, VA. Hor - vath & Tremblay exclusively represented the buyer. Starbucks has occupied the location since 2018 and pre - emptively extended its abso - lute NNN ground lease, dem - onstrating its commitment to the site and market. The ten - ant has 12 years remaining on the lease, with four five-year renewal options. The lease includes 10% rent increases
Staats of Katz & Associates represents lessee Re-Find Collective LLC to bring Uptown Cheapskate to New Jersey
sibility, and parking. Together, these qualities make it an ideal location to introduce Uptown Cheapskate to NJ,” said Amy Staats,VP of Katz & Associates. “Opening NJ’s first Uptown Cheapskate is incredibly excit - ing for us. Working with Amy Staats was amazing, and in return we have this incredible location that checked all our boxes,” said Nancy Mair and Stacy LaFontant, Re-Find Col - lective. “We aren’t just opening a retail store, we are creating a place where people can discover amazing fashion, shop more sustainable, and feel connected to the community.” MAREJ
WOODLAND PARK, NJ — Uptown Cheapskate will open its first New Jersey lo - cation at West Fells Plaza in Woodland Park. BaseCamp Franchising , the parent company of Uptown Cheap - skate and Kid to Kid, is bring - ing the concepts to New Jer - sey through its franchisees. Re-Find Collective LLC, operated by Nancy Mair and Stacy LaFontant, re- tained Katz & Associates’ Amy Staats for tenant repre - sentation to sign the 7,062 s/f lease for this Woodland Park Store. Shane Wierks of Jef- fery Realty represented the
landlord in the transaction. “This lease is a great fit, and I’m so glad to work with Re-Find Collective to make it happen. Uptown Cheapskate resonates with consumers, and West Fells Plaza offers outstanding visibility, acces - Uptown Cheapskate
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