Valley to see big experiential retail projects come to life in coming years

Four Valley retail projects in development are trying to swing big on their customer experience. Each of those projects could come to life in the next 12 to 18 months.

The developers behind VAI Resort, Mattel Adventure Park, The Sydney and Cannon Beach spoke Thursday evening in a panel discussion on how to connect with customers, deliver a memorable experience and generate revenue on weekdays. The panel was hosted by ICSC Local Arizona at Mavrix in Scottsdale.

“When you start seeing some of these retailers make these advancements and figure out ways to connect with their customers, so when they leave the store, they have an experience and they’ve made a purchase — I think that’s the key to the future,” said Dan Lupien, managing principal at Palmer Development Group, the developer behind The Sydney and The Edge. “Amazon and e-commerce can’t compete with experiences.”

Lupien was joined on the panel by Grant Fisher, Desiree Wilson, Joseph Cottle and Matt Gunn — who are all in the middle of developing experiential retail across the Valley.

This story is posted in partnership with Phoenix Business Journal. Click to read the full story.