"Retail is driving the street, and it's driving it harder every week," said J. Paul Beitler, the chairman of Douglas Elliman-Beither, the developer of the Sears project.
Overcoming what he describes as his innate skepticism and pessimism, he began a campaign of retail politics, driving all over Serbia to shake hands, hold rallies and appear on the local news.
At the time the deal was announced, 3Com justified the $8.5 billion price tag by saying it would plug US Robotics' consumer products into its retail network, driving up sales.
Passing out coupons for discounts on purchases made in partner retail stores, thereby driving traffic.
"Retail is the driving force behind the increase in commercial real estate investment," Mr. Dunne said.
Rising retail sales are driving growth in Hong Kong's $159 billion economy, helping to create jobs and end more than five years of deflation.
Their presence has fattened the city's coffers, driving retail sales and boosting hotel occupancy to new seasonal highs, transforming Miami Beach and its environs from a wan summer ghost town into a magnet for visitors of every stripe.
Rebecca Solnit, author of a new atlas of San Francisco called "Infinite City," sees Google Maps and services like it, with their emphasis on retail outlets and driving data, as painting "a middle-class, consumer version" of a place.
"The opportunity is now available for the first time to personalize and customize the music selection to really reflect the brand and atmosphere that a retail owner is driving for," said Jessica Steel, the company's executive vice president for business and corporate development.
That's what's driving retail," says Davidowitz.
