Where We Buy: Retail Real Estate with James Cook

Recent closure announcements from JCPenney, Macy's, Sears & Kmart tell us that up to 324 department stores will soon be empty. What happens when big anchors go vacant? JLL's Greg Maloney explains how shopping center owners can make this space useful again. We also learn what happened to the 133 Target stores that closed in Canada in 2015 from Dr. Tony Hernandez of the Centre for the Study of Commercial Activity at Ryerson University.

Aldi is known for low prices and efficient operation. After a recent expansion into Southern California, the grocer announced a $1.6 billion program to remodel 1,300 U.S. stores by 2020. I spoke with Vicki Eickelberger and Josh Broehl at Big Red Rooster, a JLL company. They told me about the process and intent behind the redesign.

While Millennials are now America's largest generation, Baby Boomers spend more than them in every category. In 2011, the oldest Boomers turned 65. Boomers are entering into a new life stage. This week I find out what one retired boomer does and does not like about going to the store.

Hanging out in a coffee shop to get some work done was not always a thing that people did. Starbucks changed American culture and created a whole new market.

Last year, oil prices dropped to their lowest in a decade. Yet the strongest retail real estate market in the U.S. last quarter was Houston. To understand how this can be, I talk to Simmi Jaggi, leader of JLL's Houston Land Brokerage Services group.

Only nine percent of Americans say they buy groceries online. This week I dig into why that is and how some grocery chains are aiming to change it.

Some say that the U.S. should look to China to understand the future of shopping. I wanted to know what is online shopping like in China? JLL's Asian retail research head Steven McCord answers my questions.

What's it like to shop in China today? Is going to a mall in Beijing the same experience as London or New York? I speak with JLL's Asian retail research head Steven McCord to get my questions answered.

With a new president in the White House, it's a good time to check in on the economic prospects of the average American with Ryan Severino, JLL Chief Economist.

The next big tech breakthrough is artificial intelligence. Reliable prediction machines will be able to follow and anticipate a shopper's every move. So what role will humans play in the store of tomorrow?