The Professional Retail Store Maintenance Association (PRSM) has released its latest Benchmarking Snapshot, “Dark Stores: Prevalence & Management,” which highlights retailers with non-operating stores, also known as “dark stores.”

A dark store is generally includes a warehouse or retail facility that is specifically optimized to fufill online orders. The report finds that environmental and regulatory compliance and local laws regarding vacant stores are top challenges for these retailers.

“Retail brands are facing closed retail sites, or dark stores, for a number of reasons – mergers and acquisitions, right-sizing, and competition with e-commerce,” says Bill Yanek, chief executive officer of PRSM.

The snapshot shares what building services retail brands prefer to contract out, along with their supplier preferences for daily maintenance. HVAC, fire protection and general maintenance are three of the highest contracted services.

One half of retailers surveyed say they prefer one supplier for each service, whereas 30 per cent use one supplier for all services.

Download the snapshot report and Infographic on www.prsm.com.