With as many as 10,000 retail store closures expected by the end of 2021, according to Coresight Research, there is untapped potential for retail storefronts to also serve as out-of-home advertising spaces.

Retailers across the world are transforming merchandise into artwork and creating eye-catching installations to drive traffic. Even though retailers may not occupy the specific storefront, there is still high foot traffic in the area and significant value in the brand real estate of a prime storefront regardless. For example, a jewelry brand with an affluent, middle-aged audience may advertise in an empty space near a Lululemon or Apple store.

According to AdAge, this new trend of renting vacant storefronts to advertisers can garner $25,000-$30,000 from ads per month, and landlords stand to receive a hefty percentage of that revenue.