Las Vegas in May means one thing for the commercial real estate world: ICSC Las Vegas, the world’s largest commercial real estate event. Over three days, more than 25,000 professionals are in attendance, ready to make deals, build relationships, and dig into the conversations shaping the future of retail and real estate. With this year’s addition of the PropTech Conference and Women in CRE Conference, ICSC Las Vegas is a can’t miss event for all retail real estate professionals.
What we’re watching going into the show
A few themes are dominating the run-up to this year’s event:
AI is moving from buzzword to backbone. The conversation has shifted from “what could AI do for retail real estate?” to “AI is changing how we make decisions.” Site selection, demand forecasting, lease abstraction, portfolio strategy, and so much more are being rewritten in real time. Speed to insights is a new competitive focus.
The old planning shortcuts are breaking down. Trade areas drawn as concentric rings, demand modeled by rooftop counts, “good” markets defined by density alone. These tools were built for a world of physical friction that no longer exists. Behavioral patterns, mobility, and spending capacity, tell a very different story than the maps we’ve been using for decades.
The opportunity map is shifting. Some of the country’s densest markets have become retail graveyards. Some of its most overlooked secondary and tertiary metros are dramatically underserved. Where people live, where they spend, and where they actually shop are three different geographies, and the gap between them is where the next wave of opportunity sits.
Esri’s Presence at ICSC
Esri is hosting two theme-relevant sessions this year. One as part of the PropTech Conference, and the other during ICSC Las Vegas.
The End of the Trade Area: How AI and Location Data Are Rewriting Market Planning
The trade area has been retail’s most foundational planning concept for more than 60 years. It was built for a world where consumers shopped where they lived because driving 20 miles wasn’t practical. That world is gone. Today, loyalty, lifestyle, digital behavior, and mobility patterns determine where people spend, not proximity. This session shows that clinging to radius-based thinking leads to misread demand, misplaced stores, and missed pockets of opportunity.
Featuring:
- Gregg Katz, Director, Business Industry Solutions – Real Estate, Esri
- Ethan Chernofsky, CMO, Placer.ai
- Sam Hall, Co-Founder & COO, Growth Factor
Monday, May 18th | 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm | Wynn Las Vegas – La Fleur
The Density Paradox: Why the Most Valuable Retail Real Estate Isn’t Where You Think
The industry has long chased density (population counts, daytime population, rooftop numbers). But density is a blunt instrument, and an increasingly misleading one. Some of the highest-density markets in the country are retail graveyards. Some of the most overlooked secondary and tertiary markets are dramatically underserved relative to actual spending capacity. This session reveals the gap between where people are and where spending power lives and argues that the biggest opportunity in retail real estate right now is hiding in plain sight.
Featuring:
- Moderator: Gregg Katz, Director, Business Industry Solutions – Real Estate, Esri
- Lyden Foust, CEO, Spatial.ai
- Brandon Svec, National Director, Retail Analytics, CoStar Group
Tuesday, May 19th | 2:30 – 3:00 PM | ICSC Show Floor Theater
Come find us
Stop by the Esri booth #3220F, attend a session, or set up time in advance to talk about what location intelligence can do for your business. To schedule a meeting, send us an email: bizteam@esri.com.
See you in Vegas.
