September 19, 2025 by John Krukowski

'If You’re Not Growing And Changing …': What Leaders Like Regency Centers Understand About Retail Success Today

Photo: Courtesy of Regency Centers

Village at La Floresta in Brea, California

Retail is constantly evolving, largely because shoppers’ retail habits and expectations are always changing, too. 

Customers today have vastly more choices at their fingertips and perhaps less motivation to do their shopping at brick-and-mortar stores. And when they do visit retail centers, expectations are much higher. 

“A successful retail environment today is no longer just about selling — it’s about storytelling, community, responsibility and creating value beyond the transaction,” said Christina Faley, retail studio director for TPG Architecture. “The most resilient and impactful spaces embrace flexibility, foster emotional connection and reflect a brand’s purpose in a way that customers can feel and believe in.”

Public REIT Regency Centers is at the forefront of creating retail destinations that deliver wins both for retailers and their customers. As an owner, operator and developer of suburban shopping centers nationwide, the company knows the importance of not standing still.  

“As a retail business, if you're not growing and changing, I do believe you're dying,” said Taylor Vaughan, Los Angeles-based vice president and market officer for Regency Centers.

With a portfolio of nearly 500 shopping centers exceeding 61M SF, Regency Centers is experienced in breathing new life into shopping locations and transforming them into destinations that consumers will want to visit frequently, Vaughan said.

Bisnow spoke with Regency executives about what separates a thriving retail community from a vacancy-pocked location that shoppers will avoid, as well as sought the insights of other retail leaders who are helping to transform retail into a “third place” that encourages people to stay awhile and feel connected.

Their recipes for success include a mix of best-in-class retailers relevant to the community, attractive and easy-to-navigate design elements, and programming that allows a shopping center to become an important part of the community fabric.

“The definition of successful retailing is absolutely evolving from the days when it was more focused on square footages and per-square-foot sales numbers,” said Ray Kayacan, vice president of investments for Regency Centers.

Traditional key performance indicators remain important, of course, but Kayacan said they have been joined by goals that include “curating an experience for our guests and focusing on placemaking.”

If You Build It … 

Kayacan, who is also an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California, said he shows his real estate development undergrads a segment of the movie Field of Dreams. Not because it is a beloved film, but for the famous “if you build it” line, which he said is applicable to retail.

That has always been the case, but Kayacan said retailers and retail center developers can’t assume that yesterday’s approaches will continue to draw shoppers.

“The key piece is that if you build it, they will come, but you have to be much more thoughtful about what it is you’re building and the elements you’re building into it,” he said. 

Photo: Courtesy of Regency Centers

Westlake Plaza in Thousand Oaks, California

Kayacan said his company likes to curate a mix of retailers that includes mom-and-pop or local stores as well as larger brands that have formed a connection with a particular center’s consumers.

“A good example is Mendocino Farms, a fast-casual food operator that we love out here,” he said. “We did one of their first locations at our Westlake Plaza in Thousand Oaks, and they have been rapidly expanding since then.”  

Vaughan said centers like Westlake are thriving because of a thoughtful mix of tenants and their programming encourages people to stay longer. He cited Regency’s Village at La Floresta in Brea, California, as another example of a place where the retail lineup and programming resonate with local shoppers. 

La Floresta is anchored by a Whole Foods, and Regency regards a strong grocery store tenant as critical to a center’s success. Whole Foods also participated in La Floresta’s health and wellness day, which included events such as a yoga class and free Mendocino Farms lunches for participants.

“Retail success is about offering those types of experiences,” Vaughan said. “We as landlords want to ensure the success of our tenants with events and marketing. When the tenant has that engagement from their landlord, it helps them to cultivate engagement with their own customers.”

'Feels Nice When You're There'

John Mehigan, Regency Centers’ West region senior vice president of investments, said La Floresta, like other Regency Centers developments, owes a great deal of its success to the sense of place it is able to create. 

“It has a great lineup of tenants as well as outdoor placemaking areas with big and fantastic kinetic art that encourages you to sit and enjoy it,” Mehigan said. “The shopping center is also very walkable and the landscaping is lush. It's been highly successful, partly because it just feels nice when you're there.”

Mehigan said thoughtful planning and design allow retail centers to adapt to the age of omnichannel, where the goal is to translate a customer’s online experience into a welcoming physical experience. Many retailers and restaurants are learning how to tap into online sales and make it easier for those customers to pick up their merchandise, he said. 

Shopping centers, too, are finding ways to encourage people to stick around. Lingering patrons are a welcome development from the dark days of the pandemic, when many feared that brick-and-mortar stores had permanently lost ground to online shopping. 

For the most part, that turned out not to be the case. 

Photo: Courtesy of Regency Centers

La Floresta in Brea

“The ‘retail armageddon’ thing was totally overblown,” Mehigan said.

The shopping centers that have adapted to today’s retail realities demonstrate a “healthy combination” of strong merchandising, architecture and placemaking. 

“When you have a shopping center that has all three of those elements, it provides an enjoyable experience for the customer, and it's great, too, for the tenants that we want to attract,” he said. 

Modern retail centers have taken some lessons from the hospitality industry in how to delight customers, such as through thoughtful programming and design. But they also seem to have borrowed a page from urban planners, who know the importance of parks and other green spaces as places for people to relax, recharge and interact with others.

“Dedicated outdoor areas allow people to stay and enjoy their coffee or meal, or even walk their dog,” Mehigan said. “That contributes to a comfortable and safe pedestrian environment that keeps people going from store to store.”

A Stronger Sense Of Place

Andrew Kabat, senior vice president and mid-Atlantic senior market officer for Regency Centers, has a literal window view of what successful placemaking can look like.

At Westbard Square in Bethesda, Maryland, Regency performed a total makeover of a popular but aging shopping center that had been dominated by an old-school surface parking lot. 

To create what Kabat calls “version 2.0” of Westbard Square, Regency approached the challenge from multiple angles, taking “every inch” of the property into consideration. It replaced a dated linear shopping row with a multistory mixed-use building that includes a grocery anchor as well as other retail and office spaces. 

Regency worked to retain popular existing tenants, such as a barber shop and coffee shop, and recruited new ones, including first-time retailers, to keep the mix fresh. Townhomes and 200 multifamily units will also be added, contributing to a stronger sense of place. 

Photo: Courtesy of Regency Centers

Westbard Square in Bethesda, Maryland

A new parking garage with nearly 600 spaces offers added convenience for shoppers and replaces the property's former expanse of asphalt. Kabat said the addition of a central green space has created an inviting location for visitors to gather, relax and extend their time at the center. 

“My office actually overlooks this area, and there's not a day that goes by when people aren’t out there and kids are running around,” Kabat said. “We call it ‘the square of Westbard,’ a place where people can sit, eat or enjoy a performance.”

If this all sounds far different from earlier generations of retail plazas that were built to facilitate fast in-and-out transactions, that is the point. While commerce is still king, places like Westbard Square exemplify themes that retail thought leaders describe using terms like “values-based,” “inclusive” and even “empathetic.”

For more on Regency Centers and its properties, click here.

Meanwhile, read on to learn from other firms contributing to a new generation of retail destinations. Bisnow asked them to explain what it takes to be successful in this quickly evolving environment.

How is the definition of a successful retail environment changing, and what's driving that shift?

'No Longer Just About Transactions': Carlotta Dove, Consumer Experience Director For Interior Architects 

Changing consumer values, hybrid lifestyles and retailers’ need to “bridge digital fluency with real-world impact” — aka omnichannel — are driving retail evolution, Dove said. 

“We’re seeing a shift in what defines retail success. It's no longer just about transactions,” she said. “Brands are utilizing physical space more strategically to establish their identity, foster community and cultivate lasting loyalty. People are craving presence, not just product.” 

To adapt to this changing scene, Dove said retailers are embracing modular systems, scalable formats and smart rollouts that “deliver meaning at speed.” 

“The strongest concepts today marry flexibility with emotional resonance,” she said. “They perform, connect and keep people coming back.”

'If There's One Constant About Retail …': Neville Fernandes, Principal With MV+A Architects 

“If there's one constant thing about retail, it's that it is always changing,” Fernandes said. 

Of course, it must still fulfill consumers’ basic needs, he added, such as for nourishment, entertainment and — particularly since the disruption of the pandemic — connection. This is the great advantage that physical spaces have over e-commerce.

“It's easy and quicker to order goods online today, but you can only get services in real life, and there's still no way to successfully replicate community online,” Fernandes said. 

Social interactions like meeting friends for dinner or pickleball require physical spaces.

“But not just bare boxes. What matters is seemingly everything else: landscape, sidewalks, parking, lighting, walkability and how well it's all conceived,” Fernandes said. “Centers that successfully allow community to flourish while satisfying the need to consume material goods and services are setting themselves up for success.”

Touching 'Heart And Soul': Angelo Carusi, Principal With Cooper Carry

To stand apart from retail competitors like online or discount vendors, a center’s design and programming must provide positive social interactions and authentic experiences, Carusi said.

“The place must speak to consumers on a human and humane level and offer experiences over just sales,” he said. “Making the retail environment a part of the communal identity, such as by providing activities that align with local values, helps to make a place touch the heart and soul.” 

Photo: Courtesy of Regency Centers

The Crossing Clarendon in Arlington, Virginia

'Designed With Empathy': Rachel Zsembery, President And CEO Of Bergmeyer

KPIs such as sales per square foot aren't going away, but Zsembery said retail success also rides on whether a space can forge emotional connections with consumers.

“Great retail is human-centered, holistic and designed with empathy,” she said. “That means crafting environments where people feel seen, supported and aligned with a brand’s identity and values from the moment they walk through the door. The most effective spaces anticipate real-life routines across dayparts and help people reclaim one of their most important resources: their time.” 

Brands that show clear commitments to sustainability, equity and transparency “build powerful emotional connections” with customers, particularly young shoppers. 

“For Gen Z, alignment with brand values isn’t a ‘nice to have,’ it is the baseline expectation,” she said. “Retailers who can authentically deliver on alignment with their purpose earn customer loyalty by embedding those values into everything from their store design to their operations.”

'Dynamic Experiences': MJ Munsell, Chief Creative Officer For MG2

Munsell said successful retail environments provide “dynamic experiences” that do more than allow people to check off items on their shopping lists. They incorporate a mix of events, community offerings and dining options.

“These could include QSR or white-tablecloth dining, community programming such as farmers markets, outdoor concerts and movies, seasonal and temporary pop-ups, or events with local personalities, influencers or celebrities,” she said.

'A Cornerstone Of Modern Placemaking': Jade Nunes, Retail Market Director For Core States Group

A winning retail environment blends digital innovation and personalized experiences with agile operations. The goal is to meet two important drivers for customers: convenience and experience.

“We’re seeing a transformation of traditional shopping centers into multi-use destinations that foster community and convenience,” she said. “This model encourages longer visits, more frequent returns and built-in foot traffic, redefining retail as a cornerstone of modern placemaking.”

'Embracing The Momentum': Anthony Simon, Practice Leader/Retail Director, Ware Malcomb

As retail evolves, so does the design of retail places. Simon sees pop-ups becoming more permanent and temporary activations morphing into long-term strategies for testing concepts and engaging communities. Modular layouts are popular, too, for accommodating new uses, events or brand collaborations.

Several factors are driving these transformations, he said, including:

— An increasingly competitive retail landscape.

— Shoppers who seek meaning, personalization and value but who may be cautious with their discretionary spending.

— Rapid advances in technology that are transforming inventory management, behavioral analytics and other tools of the trade.

“Retail is no longer static,” Simon said. “It’s in a constant state of reinvention and innovation, and success lies in embracing that momentum.”

'No Longer Operating In Isolation': Christina Faley, Retail Studio Director for TPG Architecture

Hospitality, wellness and cultural institutions play an important role in shaping how today’s spaces are designed and experienced, Faley said. In the process, they help differentiate brick-and-mortar retailers from e-commerce. 

“Retail is no longer operating in isolation,” Faley said. “It is increasingly functioning as a social anchor, bringing people together and acting as a ‘third place’ that offers immersive, human-centered environments.”

Which retail categories show the strongest resilience and long-term promise?

'Constantly Rethinking': Carlotta Dove

Whether they are in the business of apparel, home goods or wellness, the most resilient retailers are motivated by their brand mindset, Dove said.

“The brands that stand out are the ones adapting to shifting values, meeting consumers where they are and constantly rethinking how they show up,” she said. 

Photo: Courtesy of Regency Centers

Culver Public Market in Culver City, California

Neighborhood Connections: Neville Fernandes

Food and beverage, health and wellness, and experiential retail are strong categories today, Fernandes said. Grocery-anchored retail centers “are still going strong” because, unlike other categories, they drive frequent repeat customers.

“In urban areas, grocers are more often sited within multilevel developments, unlike the surface lot developments of the past,” Fernandes said. “Such centers with easy access to their neighborhoods and the willingness to adapt to the needs of that neighborhood will always continue to be resilient and relevant.”

'Experiential Elements': Angelo Carusi

Retailers that understand and align their brands with their customers’ expectations and can keep pace with change will thrive, Carusi said.

Merchants that can tap into consumers’ healthy living and entertainment desires “have great promise.”

“This can take the shape of retailers offering healthy alternatives like gourmet grocers or larger-scale projects that link to experiential elements coexistent with sports, music and other entertainment-type venues,” Carusi said.

A Teammate To The Community: Rachel Zsembery

Zsembery, too, sees wellness and sports retailers showing particular energy. She said a current MVP is Dick’s Sporting Goods’ House of Sport concept, which commits to its communities and encourages participation in sports clinics, classes and games. 

“It’s retail reimagined as an active, inclusive and inspiring part of everyday life, where the brand shows up not just as a place to shop but as a partner,” she said.

Embrace Omnichannel: MJ Munsell

Rather than being limited to a specific category, the key to success is adaptability.

“Retailers that embrace an omnichannel experience, offer compelling merchandise, provide excellent service and understand the importance of the perceived value each visit must bring to the customer will be resilient,” Munsell said. 

Loyalty And Lifestyle: Jade Nunes

While flexibility is important for any retailer, reinvention is not as high a priority for some categories, Nunes said. These can include discount and value retailers, grocery stores and necessity-based formats like auto parts.

“Their strength lies in consistent demand and shopper loyalty, especially during economic uncertainty,” she said. “Similarly, health and wellness, personal care and fast medical services — including gyms, beauty and veterinary care — are poised for long-term growth, driven by lifestyle shifts and consumer priorities.”

'Where It Matters Most': Anthony Simon

Broadly speaking, retail today is a tale of two categories, according to Simon.

“In today’s climate of cautious optimism, we’re seeing the strongest resilience in necessity-based retail, categories that meet essential, everyday needs,” he said, citing medtail, retail banking and grocery as examples.

On the other hand, Simon said his firm’s luxury sector clients show steady growth, too, driven by high net worth consumers less impacted by economic fluctuations.

“These resilient categories reflect a broader trend: Consumers are prioritizing value, convenience and trust while still seeking quality and experience where it matters most,” he said.

Make A Connection: Christina Faley

Faley sees success as dependent on retailers’ adaptability to consumer behaviors, their skill at leveraging technology and ability to deliver value beyond product sales.

Successful retailers “are not thriving because of what they sell but because of how they connect with consumers through purpose, personalization and community,” she said.

What makes a retail center more than just a place to transact, but a place people want to return to?

A Sense Of Generosity: Carlotta Dove

This is a question that Dove said she considered in a blog about the place of retail in a world in which people have fewer social connections than they might have a few decades ago. Retail centers can play an important role in addressing this issue, she said.

“There needs to be a mindset shift by developers from transaction to generosity because people are no longer drawn in just to shop. They return for experiences that feel meaningful,” Dove said. “Successful destinations show the power of holistic, surrounding experiences where people can connect, learn and unwind.”

Exacting Design: Neville Fernandes

When many people might feel cut off from others, a well-designed retail center can serve an important, even therapeutic purpose.

“These spaces need to be designed exactingly from a number of different criteria: sidewalk width, tree locations and the type of trees, lighting, arrival sequence, ease of access, solar orientation, etc.,” Fernandes said. “Today's retail center needs to function more like a community's front yard.” 

Photo: Courtesy of Regency Centers

La Floresta in Brea, California

The Fundamentals: Angelo Carusi

Carusi agreed that retail and retail centers need to create or complement a sense of community. But the fundamentals still matter.

“Tenants who know how to merchandise their products and places that are convenient to shop, with good visibility for retailers and access for customers and that are safe, clean and offer experiences one can’t get at home, will always be in demand,” he said.

Neighborhood Feel: Rachel Zsembery

Successful retail centers attract and retain people across multiple dayparts, Zsembery said: fitness and wellness devotees in the morning, families in the afternoon, friends in the evening.

“That kind of diversified energy makes a retail center feel more like a neighborhood, alive and full of possibility,” she said. 

Zsembery said savvy grocery-anchored and mixed-use centers are “evolving into vibrant ecosystems of activity and connection” through the integration of health and wellness service providers with entertainment and traditional retail tenants. These are places that are “centered on real routines, not ideal ones.”

Sense Of Place: MJ Munsell

“To create a retail center where people want to return, it’s important to develop a dynamic sense of place with dining experiences, entertainment, surprise and discovery, camaraderie and, of course, shopping,” Munsell said.

Striking A Balance: Jade Nunes

“Successful retail developments will strike a balance between experiential and essential retail,” Nunes said. 

In the ongoing transformation of traditional shopping centers, multi-use destinations that foster community and convenience will experience “built-in foot traffic, redefining retail as a cornerstone of modern placemaking.”

'More Than Just Shopping': Anthony Simon

Placemaking, creating opportunities for social media moments and innovative designs are among the strategies that Simon said transform a retail center into a destination. 

“It must offer more than just shopping,” he said. “The most successful retail centers are those that blend commerce with culture, offering a rich tapestry of experiences that resonate with today’s experience-driven consumers.”

Commerce + Culture + Community: Christina Faley

Meeting the needs of today’s consumers takes a lot of thought and hard work, but Faley said it boils down to a basic formula for success.

“By blending commerce with culture and community, these spaces encourage people to linger, increase a sense of brand loyalty and repeat visits,” she said. “When a space reflects the lifestyle and aspirations of its audience, it becomes somewhere people want to return to.”

This article was produced in collaboration between Regency Centers and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.  

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.