Others want to avoid it completely.

The only certainty is that Southwest Florida’s retail scene is undergoing a potentially seismic shift.

How downtown Sarasota, poised before the Great Recession to be the shopping and dining epicenter of the county, fares once the dust settles is still anybody’s guess.

Sarasota-Bradenton is the only place in the country getting a new, enclosed mall this year.

The mall arrives as the region’s existing players are being forced by a host of forces to think outside the box to remain relevant.

Westfield Group’s Southgate mall property, for instance, is becoming an outdoor complex called “Westfield Siesta Key.”

Sarasota Square mall is being renovated to fit a new 21,000-square-foot H&M apparel store and is courting other future tenants.

More retail seems to just keep coming.

“Shopping patterns are going to change, though we don’t know exactly how just yet,” said Jeff Green, a Phoenix-based retail analyst who is familiar with Southwest Florida’s offerings.

“Unfortunately, though, it is clear that downtown is one of the areas that will be hit the hardest.”

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