How Retail Real Estate Is Being Repurposed For The "Do-It-For-Me" Economy

June 13, 2026 - 18:07

Consumers are increasingly outsourcing tasks they either cannot do or simply do not want to do. This shift, known as the Do-It-For-Me or DIFM economy, is driving major changes in how retailers and service providers use real estate. Auto parts stores, car washes, convenience stores, and grocers are all adapting by repurposing old big box stores, former drugstores, and other commercial properties to meet this demand.

Auto parts retailers like AutoZone, O'Reilly, and Advance Auto Parts are opening large hub stores to serve commercial customers such as repair shops and collision centers. These hubs are three to five times larger than standard stores and stock more inventory to get parts to mechanics faster. DIFM parts sales are growing faster than DIY sales because cars are older, more complex, and harder for the average person to fix. Most new hub stores now go into repurposed big box real estate.

In the car wash industry, express conveyor belt washes are replacing old self-service bays. Drivers stay in their cars and get a full wash in two to three minutes. Chains are growing fast and often reuse former drugstores or even old grocery stores for new locations.

Convenience stores are also transforming. Food service now makes up nearly 30 percent of in-store sales, up from just 10 percent twenty years ago. Many c-stores now look like quick service restaurants with hot, made-to-order food and cafe seating. Operators are repurposing larger buildings like former bookstores or drugstores to add space for kitchens and dining areas.

Grocers are leading the DIFM trend in prepared foods. Stores are getting bigger and dedicating more space to in-store food halls with multiple restaurant vendors. H Mart, for example, opened its largest store in a former SuperTarget in Orlando, featuring a food hall with half a dozen Asian food vendors.

These DIFM users are among the fastest growing retailers in the market. They are opening in larger spaces and finding creative ways to reuse existing buildings. At the same time, a related trend called Deliver-It-For-Me is pushing big retailers like Walmart and Target to repurpose store space for online order fulfillment. The DIFM economy is not just changing what people buy, but where and how retailers operate.