Book excerpt: Retail real estate properties and their marketplaces are in a constant state of change. The emergence of such new and growing value formats as warehouse clubs, factory outlet malls, and other powerful discount formats provide traditional shopping centers and malls with increasingly competitive challenges. These value and discount retail formats generate higher sales per square foot and have lower construction costs than many traditional retail properties. Combined with the slow growth in retail sales and the increasing alternatives to in-store retailing, a question mark hangs over the future of retail marketplaces and the retail formats that will be the leaders of the future. Megatrends in Retail Real Estate allows the reader to analyze and forecast changes in the retail marketplace. The book presents a simple model to analyze and predict mall and shopping center investment returns. It then examines the financing of retail properties and securitization of their mortgages, as well as the operations of retail properties. Finally, the book analyzes new retail marketplaces and the international retail arena.