Every year, one of my personal highlights is the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) RECon convention in Las Vegas. It’s a chance both to connect with the fascinating leaders in our field, as well as to see a few steps into the future. RECon bills itself at the “global convention for the shopping center industry,” and that label is an accurate one: Over 1,000 exhibitors and more than 32,000 attendees make RECon the largest convention in the industry. It’s a chance for us to gauge what new and emerging trends might be on tap for the months and years ahead. In this edition of Retail Rap, I share my takeaways from the 2014 RECon convention and examine the key trends that have recently emerged in the retail and retail real estate industry.

Each market is unique, and there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution. I think that more flexibility in terms of design and retail and mixed-use options will equate to more vibrant, interesting and commercially successful centers. Really, it’s not about making the mall obsolete; it’s a movement toward improving our dated approach to retail tenanting. In one way or another, I believe that all retail and mixed-use centers (including traditional malls) are going to be hybrid centers in the not-too-distant future.

Check out the full article from my recurring column, Retail Rap at Chain Store Age.