Grocery is the highest-stakes feasibility decision in retail real estate — long leases, narrow margins, and an anchor that dictates the economics of the entire center. We produce grocery feasibility studies and sales forecasts for South Carolina sites using the same gravity-model methodology grocers run internally, so the number you take to a grocer or a lender is one they recognize.
A grocery feasibility study is not a demographic profile. It answers the specific questions a grocer's real estate committee and a project's lender both need resolved before anyone commits:
We model grocery demand the way the industry does — with a gravity model that distributes trade area spending across every competing store based on size, format, drive time, and barriers, then projects volume for the subject site. It is built on field-verified competitive data, not a desktop pull, and our forecasts have historically come within roughly 5 percent of actual store performance. That accuracy is the entire point: a grocer's committee has seen hundreds of forecasts, and they can tell within minutes whether the work was done the right way.
Updated June 2026 — South Carolina is a Publix-anchored state with real competitive texture underneath it. Publix continues to expand aggressively across the Lowcountry, Midlands, and Upstate; Lowes Foods and Harris Teeter hold strong positions; Food Lion and Aldi compete hard on value, with Lidl pressing into select corridors; and the urban cores of Charleston, Greenville, and Columbia have pulled in Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and Sprouts as rooftops and incomes have grown.
That mix is exactly why feasibility is non-trivial here. The same in-migration that is reshaping South Carolina retail is moving grocery demand into corridors faster than existing stores can absorb it — Summerville and Nexton, Fort Mill and Tega Cay, Bluffton, and the Greer–Simpsonville Upstate stretch. Which banner a given site fits, and what it will do against the incumbents, is a question only a proper forecast can answer. For a worked example of how the right grocery anchor changes a center's economics, see our case study on strategic property positioning for grocery retailers.
We prepare grocery feasibility work for developers underwriting grocery-anchored projects in South Carolina, grocers evaluating new South Carolina locations, and landlords assessing whether a center can attract or support a grocery anchor. For developers in particular, a forecast prepared the way grocers prepare their own is the most effective tool there is for getting a site taken seriously by an anchor. Read more about the underlying research methodology.
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As Business Development Director at CRE-360, Sarah applies a results-driven, collaborative approach to driving growth, strengthening client relationships, and expanding new business opportunities. Sarah brings 18+ years of diversified real estate experience. Holding an MRED from George Mason University and her broker licenses in both Virginia and Florida, she has led brokerage operations, managed multifamily and commercial assets, and supported national brands with market research, site selection, and leasing strategy.
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