With the barrage of election coverage winding down, it seems like we could all use some retail therapy! Last week, we got started at the ICSC Northern California Retail Idea Exchange conference. Although I did not come away with those suede ankle boots I’ve been eyeing, we did get some great retail industry insights, including the latest thinking on public/private partnerships to encourage retail, an energetic keynote by Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, and an insider’s guide from Yelp’s Manager of Local Business Outreach.

How Retail Navigates the Public Process

Lockehouse’s Ryan Nickelson moderated an engaging discussion about navigating the public process with three active Bay Area retail developers: Dollinger Properties (Damon Scholl), Panera Bread (Tim O’Kane), and independent developer, Cal Inman. Familiar themes cropped up — markets are changing much faster than zoning, so flexibility in these local regulations is key for adding new retail into communities. The group also highlighted that what works in urban settings does not necessarily translate to suburban settings. Cal Inman’s retail project near the MacArthur BART station in Oakland features retail space in shipping containers and no project parking, thanks to the 18,000 transit trips the adjacent station produces. On the other hand, Panera Bread’s suburban locations have seen a 25 percent increase in revenue after adding drive-through facilities. Similarly, Dollinger has added more parking at their projects on Brokaw Rd. in San Jose because City standards actually did not accommodate for demand.

What’s Up in Oakland?

Mayor Schaaf came to talk about Oakland’s retail environment, but she ended up doing so much more! Starting out with a literal fashion show, she described how every component of her outfit was locally-made (from the shoes to the earrings)! She underscored the “hyperlocal” movement that’s catching fire in Oakland by stating that “retail is now the living room of many of my residents.” Yet, despite the housing boom, the gentrification, and the highest increase in office rents in the world, Oakland still needs retail. Citing huge amounts of retail “leakage” outside of Oakland, the City is actively working on retail investment opportunities in the downtown, at the Coliseum site, and at the (potential) future site of a new Raiders stadium.

The Skinny on Yelp!

Finally, Yelp’s Emily Washkovick shared interesting statistics, making it clear that in our increasingly multi-tasking culture, the online feedback loop has become more important than ever.

– $655 billion will be spent at local businesses during the November and December holiday season.

– In a recent study, 92 percent of the respondents said they read online reviews to judge the quality of a business.

– Less than 1 percent of users actually generate reviews on Yelp.

– Approximately 80 percent of Yelp reviews are three stars or higher, and there are more five-star reviews than one-, two-, and three-star reviews combined.

– 82 percent of Yelp users already intend to make a purchase when using the app.

As an optimistic endnote on the state of retail, “Retail” is still the No. 1 category searched on Yelp, beating out both restaurants and services.

Rendering of Dollinger Properties retail site at Brokaw Road.