PRSM Association Releases 2017 Trends Report

News provided by

Professional Retail Store Maintenance Association

Sep 29, 2016, 06:00 ET


Dallas, TX (PRWEB) September 29, 2016 -- The Professional Retail Store Maintenance Association (PRSM), the authority on retail, multi-site facilities management, today released its annual review of the state of retail facilities management and key trends impacting the nation’s leading retailers and suppliers.

The report outlines five major trends driving the facilities management industry. They include: the facility manager of the future, relationship selling, rapidly evolving technology, the regulatory tidal wave hitting the industry and the revolution in the shopping environment.

“The retail industry has been and continues to experience rapid evolutionary changes,” said Leigh Pearson, 2016-2017 Chair of the PRSM Association Board of Directors and Director, Facility, Environmental & Procurement Services at Staples Canada. “These changes provide a great platform for today’s facilities management professionals to help move retail towards an even brighter, more exciting future.”

A breakdown of the major trends includes:

  • The Facility Manager (FM) of the Future: The FM of the future is no longer a skilled trades person. They will manage multiple complex systems generating big data that must be analyzed, sorted and interpreted to ensure maximum ROI on every facilities investment. Training and recruiting future FM’s is critical to the industry.
  • Relationship Selling: The trend in successful retail FM marketing and sales is built around understanding retail FM needs, psychology, vertical markets, and establishing relationships, using case studies and testimonials, while delivering value – not selling products and services.
  • Technology – Data Driven Decisions: The Internet of Things (IoT), cybersecurity, the digital ceiling, augmented and virtual reality, and nanotechnology are all driving retail facility management. Technology that delivers a proven ROI will continue to impact FM.
  • The Regulatory Tidal Wave: Federal regulations can have the most impact on FM. However, new local, state and regional laws can cost millions and create a regulatory tidal wave that washes across the nation impacting thousands of retailers.
  • The Evolution of the Shopping Environment: During the last two decades the retail landscape has evolved from hundreds of indoor shopping malls into highly specialized, trending stores, pop-ups, outlet centers and high-end malls. Retailers are depending upon the FM to play a key role in transforming the retail environment, making it attractive to customers and enticing them to shop in physical stores instead of online.    

The Trends Report was released today at the PRSM Association Mid-Year Conference and will be a topic of discussion at the 2016 PRSM Canadian events, in October. Held each Fall, these events provide strategic direction and tactical guidance for the retail industry, including retail facilities professionals.

In April, the PRSM2017 National Conference will be held in Dallas, Texas and will host the largest, annual gathering of retail facilities management professionals.

Download the PRSM Association 2017 Trends Report to learn more about how changes in the retail industry are impacting retail facilities management today.

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About the Professional Retail Store Maintenance® Association (PRSM)
PRSM Association, the authority on Retail and Multi-site Facilities Management, is the leading membership organization for retail facilities and vendor professionals. PRSM empowers the Retail Industry facilities management with best practices, benchmarking, education, discussion forums and trusted partnerships. Chartered in 1995, and with approximately 950 member companies, PRSM community values are founded on a spirit of innovation, resourcefulness, the quest for knowledge and ethical business relationships. Members depend on PRSM to help them achieve greater success and a competitive advantage through quality programs and resources.

Visit prsm.com for more information.

Bruce Condit, Professional Retail Store Maintenance Association, http://www.prsm.com, +1 214-734-3602, [email protected]