Day 1 at RECon featured a discussion of emerging trends in real estate. Emerging trends continue to be people’s increased move into the cities or surrounding lifestyle centers where people have multi-channel experiences, meaning they have access to everything that they could possibly want in one place.
Take for example, the Assembly Row in Somerville. The RECon conference continues to dispel risks of Amazon and the pressures of online marketing, admittedly this data may be a little bit biased as the association is an interest group that represents shopping centers. The data shows that most people still prefer the in-store experience or some combination of the in-store and out of store experience to complete their shopping day. By way of example, take Apple — offering an in-store and out-of-store experience. If Apple doesn’t have something in the store, you can purchase it online right there.
The second seminar featured a presenter on best ways of negotiation. During his presentation, he talked a lot about body language, and the use of best negotiator alternatives featured in the famous book Getting to Yes. His presentation featured the famous book by Fisher and Ury.
The day was finally capped off by a presentation from former NFL player Michael Strahan, when he talked about his life, his ambitions, and goals in the future. Most notable was his career after football, and his wide array of business interest. He talked about being a leader, being hands-on, trusting the people around you, and listening to every question in the room.