Retail assets are being reimagined. Businesses are “crossbreeding” — combining retail space with last-mile logistics facilities, in the same plot of land, such as a shopping centre.

The logic behind the move appears simple. Retail asset owners are tackling the challenges of urban land and planning constraints, as well as the environmental and financial problems that stem from the heavy load of online returns.

Crossbreeding brings footfall to the store, allowing customers to browse, buy and collect online purchases, as well as enabling them to return unwanted goods previously bought online. Return-management platform, ReturnPro’s 2025 survey reveals that 67 percent of US consumers prefer to return products in-store rather than through the mail.

Return volumes are considerable: According to 2024 research from ecommerce returns platform ZigZag, one in five online, nonfood purchases in the United Kingdom find their way back to the retailer. ICSC data, from t