ICSC Las Vegas Proved Retail Teams Are Done Rolling the Dice

Written by Andrew Teeples — May 29, 2025

At ICSC Las Vegas, retail teams tested our AI agent Waldo in real-time. The response was overwhelming— 2 new customers signed within a week.

Here's what we didn't expect at ICSC Las Vegas 2025

Retail teams stopping mid-conversation. Eyes widening. The moment they realized they'd been swimming upstream for years.

"Wait, this actually works right now?"

Not in six months. Not in six weeks. Right now.

‍

The 60-Second Litmus Test

Our COO Sam Hall (fresh from his final weeks at MIT) brought 100 business cards to ICSC. Each had a QR code linking to "Waldo," our AI site analysis agent.

Simple challenge: Scan the code. Email any US address. Get a committee-ready report in 60 seconds.

No demo. No scheduling. No "let me connect you with our team."

Just immediate value.

Result: Two new customers signed within seven days.

But here's the real insight— it wasn't about our technology. It was about theirs.

‍

The Retail Real Estate Hamster Wheel

Picture this: You're managing 200+ locations with three people. Your CEO wants expansion plans by Friday. Your lease tracking lives in seventeen different spreadsheets. Your "analytics" is a broker's PDF from last month.

You're not behind because you're slow. You're behind because you're running on a hamster wheel while your competition found the escalator.

‍

*H Mart's expansion-focused booth at ICSC 2025 - representing the growth-minded retailers seeking operational efficiency*

Every conversation at ICSC followed the same pattern:

"How long does forecasting take you now?"
‍"About two weeks if we're lucky."

"How long with GrowthFactor?"
"Two minutes."

"What's the catch?"
"There isn't one. That's the point."

‍

What Really Keeps Retail Teams Up at Night

Forget site selection for a moment. That's not what's killing these teams.

It's the quicksand of manual processes:

Lease management scattered across emails, PDFs, and someone's memory
Deal pipelines tracked in spreadsheets that break when anyone breathes on them
Committee presentations built from scratch every single time
Performance analysis that's three months behind reality

The pain isn't in any single task. It's in the switching cost between seventeen different band-aid solutions.

As Mike Cavender from Cavender's Western Wear put it:

"We've used other analytics firms... However, GrowthFactor has been a better communicator. We're constantly in contact with the team and that's made a lot of difference."

Read the case study on Cavender's here.

‍

The Swiss Army Knife Versus the Toolshed

Most retail teams have accumulated tools like a hoarder accumulates stuff.

Placer.ai for foot traffic. Excel for everything else. Broker tools that were "custom-built" (read: clunky). Email for lease tracking. PowerPoint for presentations. Prayer for integration.

Each tool solves one problem while creating three others.

GrowthFactor isn't another tool for your toolshed. It's the Swiss Army knife that replaces the toolshed.

‍

Rural King's booth setup at ICSC Las Vegas 2025 — *Rural King's booth features their targeted states, site criteria, and # of stores per year*

*Crunch Fitness's gorgeous booth at ICSC Las Vegas 2025*

Meet Waldo: Your New Unfair Advantage

Here's what Waldo does while you grab coffee:

Demographic analysis of any US location
Analog matching to your best-performing stores
Cannibalization modeling to protect existing locations
ML-powered sales forecasting with accuracy that surprises even us
Cotenant mapping with satellite imagery overlays
Traffic pattern analysis for visibility optimization
Committee-ready presentation delivered as a PDF

All in 60 seconds. All automated. All accurate.

Read more about Waldo here.

‍

The Tide is Turning (Whether You're Ready or Not)

Here's the uncomfortable truth we discovered at ICSC:

AI adoption in retail real estate isn't coming. It's here.

The early adopters aren't just getting better results. They're getting them faster, cheaper, and with fewer people.

Meanwhile, teams still drowning in manual processes are wondering why they can't keep up.

The tide has turned. You can ride it or get swept away by it.

‍

Two Ways to Stop Swimming Upstream

Option 1: Test Waldo Right Now
‍Scan the QR code above. Email any US address. See what 60-second site analysis looks like.

*On mobile? Send an address to Waldo@agent.growthfactor.ai

Option 2: Join the Operating System
‍Growth Plan customers ($1,500/month) get unlimited Waldo access plus our complete retail real estate platform. See details at growthfactor.ai/pricing.
‍

*A Note on Demo Data (Transparency Matters)

For the ICSC demo, Waldo analyzes locations using our "Blue Stallion" sample dataset—real addresses with realistic but simulated sales data.

Why fake data? Because we take your privacy seriously.

We can't show actual customer data (legal contracts, you understand). But the analysis methodology, demographic insights, and ML algorithms? Those are 100% real. When you become a customer, Waldo learns your actual portfolio and builds truly personalized recommendations.

This isn't theoretical. Dozens tested it live at ICSC, and the methodology impressed even the most data-savvy teams.

‍

The Real Question

ICSC 2025 made one thing crystal clear:

The retail teams thriving five years from now won't be the ones with the biggest budgets or the most locations.

They'll be the ones who stopped accepting "that's how we've always done it" as an answer.

So, what's your answer?

P.S. Foot traffic data integration launches Q3 2025. Current customers get priority access because we believe in rewarding the early adopters.

GrowthFactor AI exists because lean retail real estate teams deserve better than working 65 hour weeks to catch up to competitors with bigger budgets. We're the operating system that turns your 3-person team into a data science department.

About the Author: This report is based on direct conversations with dozens of retail real estate professionals at ICSC Las Vegas 2025, combined with our experience serving customers like Cavender's Western Wear. Our team includes MIT-trained data scientists and former retail real estate operators who understand both the technology and the business.

Don't subscribe to our newsletter

if you're a robot. If you're a human, please do.

Thank you! Your submission has been received!

Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

*New post every Thursday

This week in retail

Request a demo

Submit your information below and we'll be in touch to schedule.

Thank you for your interest! We'll be in touch to schedule soon.

Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

ICSC Las Vegas Proved Retail Teams Are Done Rolling the Dice

Here's what we didn't expect at ICSC Las Vegas 2025

The 60-Second Litmus Test

The Retail Real Estate Hamster Wheel

What Really Keeps Retail Teams Up at Night

The Swiss Army Knife Versus the Toolshed

Meet Waldo: Your New Unfair Advantage

The Tide is Turning (Whether You're Ready or Not)

Two Ways to Stop Swimming Upstream

*A Note on Demo Data (Transparency Matters)

The Real Question

This week in retail

The Department Store at the End of the World

ICSC Las Vegas Proved Retail Teams Are Done Rolling the Dice

The New Retail Paradox - When Physical Meets Digital

Chapter 22 and the Great Reshuffling

Beyond Four Walls: How Smart Retailers Are Redefining Space in 2025

By Industry

For Leadership

For Real Estate Teams

For Growth & Development