This a big year for Greensboro’s retail scene. New construction began in multiple areas of the city, including the area’s largest shopping area: Friendly Center.
There are some direct opportunities for retailers in the area to capitalize on this, but in this post we’d also like to detail some of the ways storefronts throughout Greensboro can still up their game from this momentum.
Friendly Center’s 4 New Restaurants and 2 New Retailers
As of April 2025, CBL Properties had confirmed large new projects being added to the Friendly Center. The 1.3 million square foot shopping area will also feature Cooper’s Hawk, First Watch, North Italia, and Tous les Jours (an artisan bakery).
On the retail front, LEGO has also recently established a storefront there. This is significant for the shopping center, especially considering the other major brands who have been longtime mainstays like Apple, Williams Sonoma, Carhartt, Pottery Barn, and American Eagle.
These are the types of names that have transformed this shopping center into a regional hub. Using Apple as an example, Friendly Center is the only place shoppers can find an Apple Store in a fairly large radius. (The next nearest one being in Charlotte.)
As what is essentially an outdoor mall with better scenery, Friendly Center’s continued success very likely stems from the draw of a customer making a day of it. (Or at least an afternoon.) Unlike some plazas where a shopper might be more singularly focused, this setup encourages parking and walking around, grabbing something to eat, and browsing a variety of vendors.
The draw of such big names creates a lot of signage opportunities for local retailers in the shopping center to be a part of that experience.
- Use blade signage to increase pedestrian recognition. Extended perpendicular from the building’s sides, blade signs extend visibility from other stores and parking areas.
- Leverage window graphics to pitch sales and stock. Attractive window messaging that highlights services, specialties, or promotions
- Coordinate directory presence strategically. For high-traffic retail hubs, readability from the road and from parking lot entrances directly affects where customers begin. Colors, illumination, and supporting signage all form continuity from maps and directories, and play into how natural heading to a particular storefront feels.
Shaw Farms Shopping Center
Another big construction project (in North Greensboro) slated for this year is what will be called the Shaw Farms Shopping Center. Food Lion will be launching a prototype store there, acting as the plaza’s anchor, with numerous other opportunities for local retailers.
For businesses looking for a new place to be, this area is near 17,500 homes. 2,000 additional homes are coming. The median value of the new homes will be $486,000 so this shopping area will be perfect for clothing, luxury, and lifestyle brands.
For those who may not be familiar with this location, it’s at the corner of Highway 150 and Spencer-Dixon Road. It borders the Brown Summit community, and the idea is to blend the area’s longtime character with fresh shopping options for newcomers.
Much like the additions to the Friendly Center, this will put some extra attention on this region. Since this plaza is new, there’s the chance for retailers to be the first on-site.
Opportunities for Greensboro Retailers
Beyond the obvious allure of these new shopping centers, expansions like these also mean some indirect benefits for all Greensboro retailers throughout the city:
The draw of new homes and communities. There’s always some degree of new construction as populations increase, but in the case of Shaw Farms Shopping Center in particular, any time a new shopping hub comes to be it changes the nature of the area. Spots that people may have felt were a bit remote before may suddenly seem attractive.
Once those new neighborhoods form, there’s a permanent and ongoing surge in local through-traffic. Even if your store isn’t strictly within these shopping centers, the passerby opportunities are higher. If you haven’t been leveraging roadside and building signage up till now, developments like these are great signals to start thinking along those lines.
Grabbing that extra attention:
- Monument signage is big, bold, and premium. It’s been a staple for a reason. It gives you a strong chance for passerby attention, but is just as useful for those already coming into the parking lot. Maybe they stopped by for a different store, but if your sign is enticing enough they’ll make it a point to visit you as well. We’ve all probably done this ourselves while shopping.
- Building-mounted signage reinforces who you are once customers are on-site. Channel letters, dimensional logos, and illuminated wall signs establish brand presence and support recognition from multiple angles and help turn casual traffic into intentional visits.
- Banners, feather flags, and A-frame signs are easy to invest into options for temporary use. Whether they are permitted depends on your space, but they’re excellent for grand openings, seasonal offers, or promotions you’re offering.
For retailers across Greensboro and nearby communities like Jamestown and High Point, this is a significant opportunity to reassess visibility. Strong roadside presence, clear storefront signage, and strategic temporary messaging allow businesses to benefit from growth happening around them.
As retail activity increases, clarity and visibility become advantages that compound over time.
We can help you create the kind of brand imagery that does that. Our creative team has decades of experience and a love for this kind of challenge.
