Read an article the other day stating that in the US we have something like 23 sq. feet of retail space for every person. The next closest country has something like 16 sq. feet of retail space per person, and the stats just dropped after that. The point of the article was that a retail rental crash was coming given the growth of online shopping.
You should check out YouTube for interviews with Howard Davidowitz who is a 35+ year retail consultant. His interviews are just classic and hilarious. Unfortunately most of them are from several years ago, but they are relevant today.
[search for Davidowitz, not Howard Davidowitz]
I had several uncles who were just like Howard, and growing up in NYC, the idea of going into NYC and getting a pastrami sandwich with him is so easy to visualize. But that’s just for me, he’s still a great interview.