Stores embracing shift in retail

“COVID has changed the way people shop a lot,” said Kaitlyn Duree, a manager at Buckle, a store that was previously located at the mall and now is part of the Shoppes at North Village complex. “People are just tired of being cooped up in a confined space. Here it’s bright and airy. You can get fresh air.”

It’s no secret that in-person retail shopping took a hit in 2020 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. While many expected the crowds to return, trends have shifted in favor of outdoor shopping complexes such as the Shoppes at North Village.

Outdoor shopping facilities aren’t exempt from losing stores, with Best Buy recently leaving the Shoppes after not renewing its lease. However, a new suitor quickly was found for that space, as Rally House moved from East Hills to the far end of the outdoor complex, with its grand opening held this past weekend. Rally House joins a list of stores that have moved north, including Buckle, Spencer’s, Claires and Bath and Body Works, which still has an East Hills location open.

Rally House manager Taylor Faucett says their move was due in large part to the store needing both a bigger space and a bigger reach.

“We couldn’t grow over there,” Faucett said of East Hills. “A lot of people don’t know who we are yet. We’ve been in town for the last 10 years but a lot of times when people talk about us they’ll say ‘What’s Rally House?’”

Ultimately, the shift in retail that St. Joseph is experiencing shows companies are following current trends and buying into them. Adapting has always been critical to success.

“This is the place to shop now,” Duree said of the Shoppes at North Village. “Outdoor shopping centers have really taken off the last probably 10 years or so and St. Joseph is just the last to kind of get up with the trends anyway. We’re finally catching up and we’re finally like ‘Oh no this is the way people want to shop and this is the way to go.’”

As for East Hills, its owner Steven Craig already is looking towards a future that could move the property in a new direction, one that would keep it from becoming a vacant complex and also bring something fresh to the community. He’s joined a delegation of city leaders to explore the possibility of bringing a new sports complex to the corner of Belt and Frederick.

In March, Craig told News-Press NOW he envisions some kind of mixed use in the future at East Hills, with sports, entertainment, office space and restaurants as well as retail sites that are accessed from the outside rather than an interior mall.

“Retail has evolved,” he said in that interview. “Retail has changed and we are going to be adapting to that change. We are going to be looking at different uses.”