25A – What’s Next?

The development of Lifestyle Centers is initially targeted to middle class to upper class/ affluent families and individuals. However the designation to poorer or lower income areas I believe can work as well. Retailer such as Dollar General and Dollar Tree are growing faster than ever in our larger online retail landscape. This will help to develop and larger scope of bringing lifestyle centers to everyone. In these landscapes strategically placing lower priced stores and restaurants can create the same impact as in the more affluently located developments. 

Upon this I interviewed two people both being college kids. 

The first person I interviewed was Jake. Jake is a college kid who doesn’t have much money. He chooses to shop and eat at lower priced restaurants these include fast food stores and thrift shops. He also frequents stores such as Dollar General. When bringing up the idea to him he seemed enthusiastic to a place that has all of these lower priced stores in one common ground area. He was receptive to understanding that it does make more sense to be suited for affluent people, however, he does think that the concept can still work for lower income people. 

However, when interviewing Maurice, also a college student with much debt redoubted that these centers would work for lower income Americans. He stated that many people who are lower income don't have much time for leisure as they are constantly working to pay bills and having areas designated for leisure to them would not really make sense. This can hold true for many working class lower income Americans who hold over 2 jobs to make ends meet. Although Maurice Brought up that the lifestyle centers placed for affluent people can serve to produce many more jobs for lower income individuals to work at. This would help them he stated.